Our family will be participating in the inaugural Canadian RBC Run for the Kids to support youth mental health services at Sunnybrook Hospital, including the Family Navigation Project

On the evening of Wednesday August 14th I attended a most memorable event in support of the event and I wanted to share some details from the evening with all of you ...

We had the opportunity to hear from a young 19 yr old girl named Sara who had spent 7+ years from age 11-18 trying to cope with mental health issues (bi-polar and beyond) that were further exaggerated by the drugs and alcohol that she turned to as a young impressionable person. Her story was haunting to hear, it captivated the gathering of 200+ RBC people that were invited to attend.

After Sara spoke then her mother Fran spoke. Fran is a lawyer working for the Provincial gov't here in Toronto and throughout the years of her daughter's health issues, she became exasperated with the current state of how people with mental illnesses are treated, especially when the same person is fighting addiction to stimulants/ alcohol.

So she and 2 other Mom's here in Toronto sat at their kitchen tables over a number of months to strategize on what they could do collectively to help prevent other families from having to go thru the same experiences that they did within the medical system here in Ontario.

The result is that they worked with specialist's at Sunnybrook hospital and decided to establish a marquee fund-raising event to raise $ for the establishment of the 'Family Navigation Project'.

The Family Navigation Project would not be where it is today without the passion, guidance, and clinical expertise of Dr. Anthony Levitt. Formerly Sunnybrook Department of Psychiatry's Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Dr. Levitt has spent the last four years channeling time and energy into hearing and responding to families' need for navigation. He has heard countless stories from families and youth of how there was no place to turn when they were in a mental health and/or addictions crisis.

That evening after Sara and her Mom spoke, Jim Cuddy from Blue Rodeo played a set for the gathered people. It was a very special evening to say the least.

My request to you now is that you spend a few more minutes on this site to read about how your $ contributions will be applied towards the establishment of the Family Navigation project @ Sunnybrook Hospital

Thank-you for your support,

Paul