CMHA Waterloo Wellington Starts Holiday Campaign to Raise Much Needed Funds for Mental Health Support – Give the Gift of Mental Health

Nov 15, 2023

We are facing a Mental Health Crisis. The rising cost of living, skyrocketing housing market, food insecurity, climate change, and the long-lasting impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic have made this crisis worse and are the stressors in our life that impact our mental health and wellbeing.

In 2020, the Ipsos Global Health Service Monitor, reported 26% of respondents said mental health was one of the biggest health problems in their country, in 2023 it’s 44%. Seven-in-ten residents in Waterloo-Wellington have accessed mental health services and supports at some point for themselves or for someone in their immediate family.

Our services play a vital role in our community, but the needs are more than our funding can keep up with. We need YOUR support to help close this gap and meet the growing demand. At CMHA Waterloo Wellington, we work to build a community in which everyone has what they need to live meaningful lives, we can’t do this without YOUR SUPPORT. The complexity of mental health and addictions is showing up in our homes, schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods… everywhere. More Support is needed for all.

According to a Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health report on the secondary impacts of the pandemic, our local children and youth are experiencing increases in mental health challenges across every indicator, when comparing survey results from November 2019 and February 2022. Children and Youth in Guelph, Wellington, and Dufferin are reporting lower self-esteem, are struggling to cope, and do not feel hopeful about their future.

How do children, youth, and their families cope when there is a waitlist for mental health services OR the services are too expensive to access privately OR the services are not easily accessible?

Together with the kindness and generosity of community members like you, CMHA Waterloo Wellington and the Grove Youth Wellness Hubs are developing solutions and filling gaps in the healthcare system, BUT we can’t do it without your help!

“I have been working in mental health for more than twenty years, and I have never experienced the complexity in need that we are seeing in our community today. Every day we are responding to individuals and families who are in crisis, managing complex mental health and addiction issues. As we enter the holiday season, our thoughts go towards our loved ones, and sadly some of those we care about the most are struggling,” says CEO CMHA WW Helen Fishburn.

With your help today, we can provide support to children, youth, adults, and seniors in our community with the care they need – and deserve.

With the community’s help, we can immediately move people off the waiting list and into the care they need—and deserve. Please consider a donation to the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington this holiday season, to give in Guelph Wellington: www.cmhaww.ca/givethegiftgw or to give in Waterloo Region: www.cmhaww.ca/givethegiftwr. If you are in crisis or know someone who needs support, please reach out to Here 24/7 at 1-844-437-3247 (Here 247).

We are also pleased to introduce ‘Gifts that Give’ this holiday season. Whether it is a bundle of greeting cards created by our Self-Help Peer Support Spark of Brilliance program, vouchers for Guelph Storm tickets, chocolate wreaths, an anthology of Inspirational Perspectives on Mental Health, an engraved watch, or cozy mittens! We have a gift for everyone on your list, and better yet, these gifts all give back to CMHA Waterloo Wellington. It’s a win win – check out our selection of Gifts that Give!