â–º Listen Live
â–º Listen Live
HomeNewsFor the Love of Woody helping raise awareness about mental health locally

For the Love of Woody helping raise awareness about mental health locally

After losing his father to a silent battle to mental illness, Mark Caldwell is raising awareness about mental health so no one else has to go through what he has. Caldwell and his family are raising money to inspire hope for the one in five Canadians living with mental illness by participating in the One Brave Night for Mental Health campaign, organized by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Caldwell’s father Woody took his own life back in November, and Caldwell says he never knew his father was suffering. Caldwell says he wants to change the conversation about mental health so people understand it’s OK to talk about things. He says people need to know that they don’t have to feel embarrassed and they don’t have to be ashamed to talk to people if they’re struggling. The money raised through the campaign will go towards improving access to care and conducting research to find better treatments for mental illness.

Caldwell says they are vocalizing something that has been unspoken about. He says mental illness is something that effects everyone. Caldwell says he’s had kids come in to his work and give him money because they’ve lost an uncle or a family member to mental illness. He says he’s 32 and it was challenging to deal with. Caldwell says when you’ve got seven-year-old’s and 12-year-old’s dealing with this stuff, it’s brutal.

In its first two years, One Brave Night for Mental Health raised more than $1.5 million, according to CAMH. The money helped create three youth clinics to help with mental health treatment. Caldwell says that’s one of the keys to this whole campaign. He says the problem now is someone with a mental illness goes to the hospital and the doctors watch them, make a plan and the next day they’re sent back home. He says there’s no follow up, no nothing and that’s just not good enough. Caldwell’s family has raised $8,568 as of today, which is 85 per cent of their overall goal. If you’d like more information or want to donate to the cause, you can go here: http://fortheloveofwoody.com/

- Advertisment -
- Advertisment -
- Advertisement -

Continue Reading