CAMH One Brave Night for Mental Health is a challenge to the country to stay up all night on May 13, 2016 and raise funds to support mental health initiatives at CAMH. You can create your own all-night challenge and get together with friends and family to marathon-watch your favourite series, host a board game tournament, or go camping and stay up wishing on stars. At dawn on May 14, participants will post their #sunriseselfie photo to social media and stand in solidarity with those living with mental illness.
Why participate?
People living with mental illness tell us nighttime can be the hardest for them, often bringing feelings of anxiety, sadness and stress. It is in the darkness that they feel most alone and have the least amount of hope.
In any given year, one in five Canadians will experience mental illness. But despite how many Canadians are affected, stigma persists; two-thirds of those experiencing mental illness or addictions do so in silence. To eradicate this stigma, we need to talk about it, and CAMH One Brave Night provides a platform to do that, to be part of a community who is inspired to break down the stigma and bring discussion of mental health to the forefront.
What can you do?
It’s not too late to participate in CAMH One Brave Night! Register as an individual or join a team and ask your friends and family to sponsor your challenge. If you’re unable to stay up all night – it’s no problem! Ask for a Sleep Pass to be donated to you. It goes towards your fundraising total and you can catch a few Zzzzs – win, win! If you’re unable to participate, you can still be involved by donating to a friend or a team. Click here to search for participants.
Donations to CAMH One Brave Night for Mental Health go towards supporting the highest priority needs of the hospital. By participating in CAMH One Brave Night you are helping CAMH improve access to care, conduct research to find better treatments, and build more spaces for healing.
You are now part of a community that is changing the way we talk about mental health; thank you for being a part of this movement.
What can I do?
Do whatever works for you, and get creative – but make sure you’re also keeping safety – yours and others – in mind. Here are just a few of the ideas this year’s participants have come up with:
• Missy Ink Magazine is holding their event at Pursuit OCR.
• Team Running on Steam will be live-streaming video games. Viewers can vote on what games they play later in the night.
• Women’s Fitness Club of Canada is hosting a dance-party and slew of all-night events at their Richmond Hill location from 10am-6pm
• Dragon’s Den’s Jim Treliving is going bowling and then having a pajama party
• Team KPMG is hosting an office event, showing the Blue Jay game and playing boardgames all night.
• Team Markland Shines a Light will be holding a community barbeque and group walk around the neighbourhood
• Team #southasianstigmabusters are holding a bbq in Mississauga, encouraging members of the South Asian community to break down the stigma by talking about mental health
• Team Rad & Sad: a group of high school students who are playing Just Dance on Wii and singing karaoke to keep their energy up.
You can keep track of these teams, get in touch with them and even donate to their campaigns on the One Brave Night website.
Oh, and if you’re in Toronto, make sure to catch a glimpse of the CN Tower, which will be lit purple for the night. And don’t forget to tag your social media posts with #OneBraveNight, to join the growing conversation of mental health advocates and fundraisers who are helping end stigma and transform lives in mental health.