At Mood Disorders Society of Canada, we are committed to supporting you through each stage of your mental health journey. We are pleased to highlight some of the fantastic work being done by our partners and volunteers across Canada. Their dedication and compassion continue to make a significant impact on the lives of many. As always, we welcome your feedback and encourage you to stay connected with us. Together, we can build a stronger, more supportive community for everyone affected by mood disorders. Thank you for your continued support.

MDSC Recommends Increased Support for For Community Mental Health in

$50 Million Pre-Budget Submission

In August 2024, MDSC made recommendations to the Federal Government for Priorities in the 2025 Federal Budget.

Recommendation: The Government of Canada invests $50 million over five years in a targeted Community Mental Health Fund, to build capacity for mental health organizations to better serve people impacted by mental illness and to support their care providers.

Community mental health organizations play an indispensable role in addressing these challenges. These organizations are often the first point of contact for those seeking help and provide essential services that complement the care offered by primary healthcare providers. However, despite their critical importance, community mental health organizations have been underfunded for decades, leaving them unable to meet the growing demand for their services.

Along his route, Clay carried a Canadian banner signed by over 300 individuals with lived experience.

10TH CANAL PURSUIT FOR MENTAL HEALTH

Over 24 hours, Firefighter & Paramedic Michelle Smith ran in gear, 100 km from Merrickville to Ottawa .

Leading the Canal Pursuit—a long-distance run supporting mental health—Clay Williams has made a huge impact over the past decade raising over $100,000 for MDSC. Raising an incredible $18,500 in 2024, the run honored military personnel and first responders by highlighting key Canadian Forces bases and emergency services. Running over 700km in 7 days, Clay carried a Canadian banner signed by over 300 individuals with lived experience. Clay's journey powerfully reminds us that none of us are alone and that hope is always within reach.

New Team Members

Krista Craig - National Sustainability Director

A seasoned Business Development and Project Management professional with a background in healthcare and education fundraising initiatives. Krista oversees the development of new, strategic funding relationships that will allow MDSC to continue making a meaningful and positive difference in the lives of those impacted by Mental Illness in Canada.

Varshini Prakash - Software Developer, MIRA

Her role involves using cutting-edge techniques to design and develop MIRA, an AI-based mental health chatbot. MIRA provides information on mental health support and services and can also provide information on general or specific mental health-related topics.

TPH Employees Become

Mental Health Champions!

In February, MDSC was pleased to receive a donation of over $36,000 from The Printing House (TPH) and their employees.

TPH Charitable Office was initiated in 1985 by Earle and operated by his wife, Janice. Their philosophy for the Charitable Office was to help others help themselves. In 1999 Janice introduced their employee Payroll Participation Program. The company matches the donations made by the staff dollar for dollar. MDSC is proud to have been selected as the health-related charity of choice for 2023.

Employee based fundraising campaigns are an excellent way that organizations can give back to their communities, often with minimal expense. Whether via a fun, activity-based fundraiser such as a bowl-a-thon, a 50/50 draw at a staff party, or an organized employee giving campaign – hosting an employee fundraiser is a way that employers can boost employee morale and elevate workplace culture. When employers enable their employees to get involved in social responsibility, everyone wins!

If you are interested in learning more about how your employees can get involved to help MDSC, please email Krista Craig, National Sustainability Director at krista@mdsc.ca

TPH was founded by Earle O’Born in 1961 and was one of the first ‘instant printing’ companies in North America. Today, TPH has continued to grow into what is now one of the largest privately-owned branch networks across Canada. The journey of transforming from one single branch in Toronto to 70 locations across Canada is an inspirational story of one man's passion, determination, and drive to become the best.

MDSC Program Updates

National Youth Advisory Council (NYAC) is a network of students from high schools, colleges and universities across the country, aimed at engaging young adults in discussions about mental health in their own age demographic. NYAC is proud to host the Bloom Blog - a multimedia publication platform for youth to share their experiences with mental health. Whether it be fine art, writing or photography, we hope to generate productive conversations about mental health and show young people that they are not alone in their journeys.

To read the Blog or share your own submission, visit the NYAC Bloom Blog Webpage.

Equitable Access to Medication

Following our groundbreaking report System Broken: How Public Drug Coverage is Failing Canadians with Mental Illness in September 2024, a team from MDSC further spread the word by presenting a scientific poster at the CDA-AMC Symposium. With over 52 million reads, views and listens by Canadians from 46 different pieces of media coverage, the System Broken report continues to makes waves in Government and Medical communities.

Read more about what we've done since the report was released. Read More

MIRA (Mental Health Intelligent Information Resource Assistant), is our cutting-edge, Artificial Intelligence Enhanced conversational chatbot which acts as a mental health system navigator. MIRA provides information on mental health support and services and can also provide information on general or specific mental health-related topics.

In September, 2024, MDSC released Version 4.0. Our next version will have increased empathic capabilities and will incorporate the latest generative AI models for enhanced conversational interaction.

MIRA was born from a vision that mental health services should be accessible and free. MIRA belongs to Canadians. As such, we would like to invite organizations from small community centres, through to large health authorities, to use MIRA for free.

To learn more about how to partner with MIRA and/or include MIRA on your organization's website, email National Program Director, Ken Porter at ken@mdsc.ca or visit mymira.ca/sharing

Support MDSC - Donate Today!

Our ongoing efforts ensure that persons affected by mental health issues, enjoy the fullest, most productive lives possible, within a healthy, stigma-free environment. We work diligently to provide supports and resources to assist families and caregivers and our efforts are concentrated on providing real help that positively impacts their daily living.

MDSC does not receive ongoing core government funding, we rely on the support and generosity of people like you who care about your community members, neighbours, family, and friends.

Donate Now

Mood Disorders Society of Canada | Charitable Number: 883984817RR0001 | Belleville, ON K8P 4S2 CA

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