Photo: Contributed
The Kelowna General Hospital Foundation has raised $1.7 million for mental health supports in the local community through the ‘We See You’ campaign.
The campaign was launhced in March to acknowledge the current mental health care crisis has not gone unnoticed, promising to provide the immediate funding needed for mental health care programs and resources.
“I am incredibly proud of this community for stepping up and taking action on an area of health care where we so desperately need funding right now,” KGH Foundation CEO Allison Ramchuk said in a press release. “The swiftness with which we reached our goal sends a clear message to all who are struggling right now. We see you.”
With an overwhelming demand, immediate funding has already been disbursed to community services like the Canadian Mental Health Association, with Kelowna receiving the funding needed for a family peer supporter position.
“A family peer supporter is a person who uses their own living/lived experience to help others. They know what it’s like to be a parent of a young person who is experiencing mental health and/or substance use challenges and trying to navigate the system for help,” CMHA Kelowna CEO Mike Gawliuk said.
“This [funding] will allow us to provide families, parents, and caregivers direct, on-site assistance through individualized peer-based practical, emotional, and social supports. The role adds another layer of support that will empower and inform parents as they work through the issues the young people in their lives are facing.”
Some money raised will also go towards funding Kelowna’s Child Advocacy Centre with more resources for upstream support for children who have experienced abuse and criminal trauma.
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