‘Not on your own’: West Island family walkathon raising funds for mental-health programs
Posted June 5, 2022 1:24 pm.
Last Updated June 5, 2022 1:26 pm.
Montrealers laced up their walking shoes on Saturday at Centennial Park in DDO.
Montreal’s Lakeshore General Hospital Foundation (LGHF) launched a brand-new event: a family 5km walkathon to help raise funds for their mental-health programs.
“We’ve launched our first walkathon. It’s a 5km family walkathon where the entire family is welcome, including dogs,” said Nathalie Kamel, the LGHF’s managing director.
“The mental health crisis right now is extremely important. It’s very prevalent. And we really want to do everything that we can to support anybody who needs to help for this.”
The proceeds from the walkathon go toward adding three beds to their short-stay in-patient mental-health unit, as well as toward the Youth Mental Health Centre in Kirkland.
“So many people who were suffering before the pandemic and also during the pandemic, it was very hard,” said Dr. Fred Van den Eynde, who works in the department of psychiatry at the Lakeshore General Hospital. “So I think we’re all here together because people want to support and say, ‘look, you’re not on your own.’”
For some people walking, the reasons were very personal.
“I think every family has issues with mental health, with one or two or you know, my parents suffered from mental health. My father was bipolar, which was diagnosed later in life.
“And after they both passed away within three weeks of each other, I myself was suffering terribly from depression. I couldn’t stop crying. And I also saw my doctor, my physician… Time has gone by and I’m ready to go off and continue on with, you know, I’m in a good place again.”
Dr. Van den Eynde hopes events like Saturday’s walkathon inspires others to be more open about their mental health.
“I can only hope that this has a domino effect, that more and more people will say, ‘it’s OK. I have an issue, and maybe I should talk to someone.’”
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The foundation says demands for mental-health services in the community has drastically increased since the beginning of the pandemic.
Since March 2020, the Youth Mental Health Clinic in Kirkland has seen its average number of referrals almost triple.
In 2021, the hospital added a five-bed short-stay in-patient mental-health unit to help with demand, but more is still needed.
“If anybody that you know is suffering from mental health issues, please reach out because there is support for you there,” said Kamel.
