Access to mental health care is consistently the number one concern for individuals living with mental illness in the community. Despite a vast array of quality programs and services, people struggle to find and engage the care they need to get well.
The first door, entered by someone looking for physical health care, leads to a doctor familiar with diagnosis and treatment, as well as the pathway to more specialized care. The road forward is clear.
The second, leading to mental health care, is for many Albertans seemingly closed. This happens for many reasons: lack of mental health literacy, stigma, and unclear pathways to resources prevents many individuals needing support from reaching out for help.The path forward to recovery often feels uncertain.
That’s why it is ever important that we have the support of individuals like you so we can simplify and improve access to vital mental health services. You helped us raise an incredible $1,616,947 this year, all earmarked for projects that greatly improve access to mental health care. Together, we’re rewriting the mental health script by opening the door to appropriate, barrier-free, integrated care.
There is so much to celebrate this year. But above all, your support has opened the door for individuals with mental illness to hope.
Thank you, from all of us at the Mental Health Foundation.
It’s a genuine example of how community can impact change for good. This past year, thanks to many individual donations, and a $122,000 grant from the Edmonton Civic Employees Charitable Assistance Fund, we finally opened the doors to not one, but two clinic spaces offering brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression.
From one person speaking up at our 2017 Mental Health Foundation Breakfast, to hundreds of people answering his call and donating, individuals with treatment resistant depression now have a new opportunity to get well. For those whose path to recovery felt hopeless, it’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
After 20 years of living with depression, Sharon was ready to try anything to manage her pain. One of the first patients to receive publicly available brain stimulation in Edmonton, she’s now able to live the life she’s always wanted.
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation uses magnets to stimulate targeted areas of the brain, regulating emotion. Brain stimulation is painless, non-invasive and virtually free of side effects.
Watch Video
5 machines now in operation in Edmonton
55 Patients have received rTMS treatments since November 1st, 2018
rTMs Clinic in Downtown Edmonton began treating first cohort of 18 on Sept 9, 2019
Over half of people receiving rTMs have experienced a significant response (symptoms reduced by half).
An additional ¼ of individuals are anticipated to have their symptoms reduced by 30%
The transformation to happy and hopeful is astonishing after just a short time receiving rTMS at the Day Hospital. I have to wonder how different my life might have been if these resources had been available when I was younger. I thank you for giving generously to the future mental health of so many.”
Sharon, rTMS patient
Donor support helped open the doors to the first Day Hospital in the Edmonton Zone this year, providing an alternative to hospitalization for individuals with severe mental illness. Hospital stays can leave patients feeling frustrated and isolated from their communities. Your support means that patients can now benefit from a therapeutic setting during the day, while returning home to their family, friends, and community at night.
Len lived with bipolar disorder for 30 years, but spent most of it maintaining the appearance of success. Beneath the surface, he was flailing. Thanks to his time at the Day Hospital, Len learned the skills he needed to truly manage his illness, and begin living his life.
New option for psychiatric care now available at Alberta Hospital
Finding another way: Day Hospital helps those suffering with mental illness
Research says that Acute Day Hospitals provide a feasible alternative for
18.4% to 39.1% of acute inpatients
106 individuals transitioned out of an inpatient unit through the Day Hospital, shortening the length of their hospital stay and opening up beds.
Attendance can be 3 to 5 days per week,
with participation for a half or full day, with patients going home at 7 PM.
53% of patients indicated Group Therapy as the most helpful service they received at Day Hospital
Day Hospital provides a cost-effective alternative to inpatient care for acutely ill patients.
109 individuals were referred to Day Hospital from emergency rooms, easing the challenge of finding them a bed, and allowing them to stay in the community.
Daily interaction with the outside world provides patients with good opportunities
to develop skills and maintain a family support system.
Another highly anticipated door opened this Spring: Addiction and Mental Health Access 24/7, a new front door for adults to access mental health services around the clock every day of the week. You may know it best from our #onedooryeg campiagn in partnership with the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation. The new centre represents a shift in how care is offered rather than just adding to what is offered. There is a roadmap to recovery for everyone, and in Edmonton that road now starts here
Over the last four years, Connie supported her son as he managed periods of severe mental illness. When she discovered Access 24/7, she felt she finally found a place that could put him on the road to recovery.
Centralized 24-7 site for mental health services opens at Royal Alex
24-7 access to mental health supports and services
‘One door will access help’, new mental health centre open in Edmonton
1021 walk-ins
293 walked in outside traditional clinic hours
Average wait time:
23 minutes
55% of those walking
in self-referred
18,548 phone calls
in first 3 months
Donors to the Foundation ensure that the best solutions are available to improve mental health. Individuals who desire to make a difference for children and youth will soon have the opportunity to contribute to an initiative that will better serve the thousands of youth who require addiction and mental health services–many of whom do not know where to go for help.
Adolescence and young adulthood is a vulnerable time for the development of mental health disorders. So many youth and families struggle needlessly to find care. Integrated youth services are the solution. No doubt. No stigma. Just help when youth need it. Through support of the Foundation’s initiative, you can ensure that youth in the province receive evidence-based care, in the right place by the right provider.
For families like the Bowie’s, finding the right mental health care is much harder than it should be. Cameron and Janice Bowie’s daughter Gabby spent 5 years waiting to get connected to services that would help her, while her parents desperately tried to manage her condition.
That's why building youth hubs matter.
Transformation requires collaboration. The Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation has committed $5 million dollars to pave the way for the expansion of youth hubs in Alberta.
76%
experience barriers to youth mental health support.
70%
of mental health problems and illnesses have their onset during childhood or adolescence.
60%
of Canadians won’t seek the help they need.
Goal: Creation of provincial network of Integrated Youth Services, partnership with provincial government, and opening of 3-5 flagship hubs over next 3 years
In 2018-19: SCHF pledged $5 million to help the Mental Health Foundation expand IYS in Alberta
Thanks to the passionate support of our donors and sponsors, we dispersed $805,000 to community addiction and mental health programs this year.
Frank J. Flaman Foundation
Alberta Health Services
Eldon and Anne Foote Fund
Stollery Charitable Foundation
J. Hokanson Family Charitable Foundation
Kevin Morin
Flaman Group of Companies
Chandos
Gift Funds Canada
Community Initiatives Program
Asian Christian Cultural Association of Alberta
TELUS Friendly Future Foundation
Leder Charitable Foundation
Qualico
Synergy
The John & Dianne Storey Family Foundation
Edgar Psychological
PCL Construction Management Inc.
John Cameron Changing Lives Foundation
Keller
Rolling Mix Group of Companies
Alberta Blue Cross
Ernst & Young LLP
Felesky Flynn LLP
Allard Developments
Ledcor
Dr. Adam Abba-Aji
Horizon North
Pangman
Midnight Integrated Financial
Anthem United
1425280 Alberta Ltd.
Select Engineering Consultants Ltd.
Bruce Foster
Nancy Peck
Wendy Andrews
Nancy MacDonald
Lisa Shorten
Douglas Stollery
Aroon Sequeira
Ralph Young
Delcon Capital
Mary Pat Barry
Telus Corporation
Kim Odland
Kerry Day
Cody Lakevold
Robert Rosen
Lisa Blair
Christopher Grey
Vincent Agyapong
Edmonton Community Foundation
Deb Manz
Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation
Charlene Butler
Nicole Wiebe
McCoy Family Charity
Susan Hsu
Daniel Li
Julian Wenger
Gail Fergusson
Ben Horcica
Abbey Lane Inc.
Lloyd Sadd Insurance Brokers
Telus Corporation
Clark Builders
Bird Construction
Maclab Properties Group
Melcor
DLA Piper Canada LLP
EllisDon
Edgar Developments
Saskatchewan Mutual Insurance
Gord Wiebe
Curtis Stensrud Memorial Tournament
United Way of the Alberta Capital Region
Mark Korthuis
Jill Kelland
Kurt Popowich
San Rufo Homes Ltd.
Carolyn Graham
Greg Burghardt
Beth Chester
David Fedyk
Carla Madra
Jason Deboski
Penny Omell
Jon Lund
Ron Mosher
Avininder Aulakh
Andrew Ross
Claire Desrochers
Margo Kaufmann
DeAnn Hunter
Krishna Balachandra
Karthikeyan Ganapathy
Chris Vilcsak
Benefaction Foundation
Nikan Medical Consultation Inc.
Gord Gilroy
Andrei Poukhovski
Rozsa Foundation
Stormy Sopp
Steve Rawlinson
Heather Hicks
Eugenie McCallan
Jennifer Howlett
Brandon Kutschinski
Deborah Gordon
Michael Roellinghoff
Lindsay Kelly
Mary Gibson
Ayaz Bhanji
Lindsay Dodd
Margot Ross Graham
Brendan Storey
David Porter
Chad Helm
Jim Webb
Sally Lore
Harpreet Singh
Merle Taylor
Joel Foster
Ryan Ho
Sidney Waskiewich
Mike Staines
Mohammad Y. Yahyaei Moayyed
Jennifer Brown
Andy Zylstra
Tim Onciul
Michael Wilde
Mark McKinley
Joseph Doucet
Alyson Hodson
Sandra Duxbury
Gitta Kulczycki
William Blais
Mark McRae
Jon Heisler
Tammy Patterson
Sherry Baik
Virendra Gupta
Henry Van Weelden
Mobolaji Lawal
Stephen Hesse
Adegboyega Sapara
Parkland Pickleheads
Allen Ambrosie
John Cameron
Krishna Gupta
Tony Matera
Kathleen Kornak
Karen Poirier
Wesmech Sales (Prairies) Ltd
Jim Bijou
Alberto Choy
Isfandyar Khan
Colin Ouellette
Megan Lyons
Corinne Saad
Leanne Gouweleeuw
Steve Brittain
H. H. Smith Ltd.
Deborah Devine
Carol Hunter
Nancy Fraser
Michael Arndt
Ralph Eckl
United Nurses of Alberta Local 183
April Ockerman
Behrends Group
Braden Fellows
The Wig Boutique
Sharlene Rutherford
Shirley Robertson
Kassia Selinger
Amber Brezovski
Angel Liddicoat
Anne Clayton
Annette Dupuis
Candice De Luca
Carol Diocson
Donna Berg
Enzo Hilario
Eric Bazzarelli
Fausto Franceschi
Hannah Romanko
Jennifer Seinen
Jessica DuBois
John Mackinnon
John Clarke
John Pocklington
Joseph Landayan
Kelsey Jones
Kendra Black
Leonard Traub
Linda Hickle
Lindsay Torok-Both
Lisa Seinen
Lorette Tkatchuk
Maria Da Silva
Mark Haun
Mike Caputo
Shane Isert
Victoria Morisbak
Wendy King
Clear Directional Drilling Solutions Ltd.
The Finishing Touch
Unifor Local 72A
Sean McKennitt
Matthew Gauthier
Dania Spillett
Ubaidullah Abdullah
Saverio Cupelli
Jamie Fleese
Mariah Bernardo
Mariana Olea
elizabeth horcica
Denise Koufogiannakis
Nancy Monaghan
Jim Killoh
Laura ONeill
Jim Evenson
Jennifer Walker
Darcy Yamada
Mingze Xie
Lindsay Daniller
Aoife Horan
Jason Bossert
Travis Cooper
Stacey Donham
Catrin Owen
Marilyn Mucha
Josh Benko
Percy Woods
Andrew Greenshaw
Ken Barry
Mary Jane James
Kayla Carnovale
Jeannette Daniels
Petrea Chamney
Kairi Pawlick
Brad Machon
Ryan Zacharuk
Tim Smythe
Neil Renneberg
Tannis Wisheu
Alice Leung
Stephanie Vogelaar
Patricia Mullen
Jill Robertson
Michael Rivest
Kaylee Laventure
Craig Corbett
James Belovich
Rick Vogel
Simon Foxcroft
Kim Langford
Steve Rees
Bryce Williamson
David St. Cyr
Anne Kendrick
Tannis Foster
Shari Page
Lucien Legault
Mark Donnelly
Silvia Vajushi
Alyssa Haunholter
Holly Hallborg
Craig Stumpf-Allen
Bradyn Arth
Peter Bevilacqua
Krista Frattin
Doug VandenBrink
James Killoh
Vaughn Shears
Amanda Schick
Alena Christie
Jocelyn Kennedy
Chris Larose
Michael Kwen
Chris Wright
Allen Walter
Frank Krupka
Rona Fraser
Brian Geislinger
Nola Gunn
Sue Monson
Nandini Ramachandran
Anand Pye
Ulf-Hilmar Hahn
Jared Seida
Carolyn Osadczuk
Kelly Demkiw
Sean Price
Fouad Salama
Nancy Carlson
Padon Knox
Tim Battle
David Kuna
Carolyn Burke
Spencer Kryzanowski
Steve Vollrath
Caroline Ibrahim
Bernard Eyben
Linda Hofstede
Graham Gaine
Robert Vretenar
Scot Purdon
Adele Dorey
Mark Joffe
Serge St. Onge
Tina Ghafuri
Calvin Eyben
Roxanne Eyben
Holly Anonymous
Atif Ijaz
Rene Rendon
MacEwan University
Villa Marguerite Holdings Ltd. Pat Chaloner
Barry Gateley
Anita Rossall
Beverly K. McLeod
Robert Murphy
Steve Jerebic
Ted Kouri
Danielle L'Heureux
Robin Alton
Pat Biglow
Patricia Stewart
Elaine Greenwood
Larry Evans
Household Helpers Ltd.
Donna Prato
Ronald Hennig
Jan Meiers
RaeAnn Hartman
Sandra Lalonde
Donna Finucane
Fran Andrews
Stan Skotniczny
Joan Stonehocker
Mirjam Stahel
Donald Hunt
Marie Rudkowski
Shawna Epp
Alba Smith
Allen Jacobson
Amilcar Prime
Amy Vandermer
Bonnie Robertson
Bonnie Korthuis
Christina Mackinnon
Connie Silva
Curtis Rondeau
David Elaschuk
Deborah Phillips
Diana Coco
Doug Ducharme
Dwayne Gareau
Gabriel Cahill
Heidi Boutin
Henry Korthuis
James Hickle
Jerry Ryan
Jodi McCormack
Joe Glamuzina
Jordan Gillespie
Josephine Pacholik
Karen Gerencser
Kashmir Bahia
Kathleen Feraco
Kim Mills
Kimberly Vandermeer
Laura Oladokun
Liesbeth Dollery
Mary Bazzarelli
Miranda Morrison
Nelson Branco
Nicole Baker
Nicole Burg
Patrick Kalita
Phillip Kapronczai
Praveen Gupta
Raven Vidal
Rejean Boutin
Richard Williams
Sara Romanko
Sean Myskiw
Shannon Habib
Shawna Fisher
Sheila Steger
Stacey Schiller
Teresia Ritchie
Tim Borbandy
Vincenzo Vena
Willem Spaans
Jessica Brezovski
Julie Wagner
June Clark
Tracy Lafond
Lori Thompson
Lindsey Pearson
Erin Zukwisky
Robert Alonzi
Mike Mach
Dan Bernardo
Nathan Richter
Assia Tarrabin
Fiona Hay
Larry Wood
Connor Rutherford
Sura Noor
Glenn Stowkowy
Pam Sunnus
Allan Stefner
Dayle Pett
Edmond Margulies
Patrick Myslicki
Mary Butterworth School
Cory McDonald
Debra Vollrath
Douwe Spriensma
Kimberly du Plessis
Lloyd Goodine
Siobhan Biagi
Michael Talty
Mary Marshall
Liana Urichuk
Pat de Grace
Peter Pontikes
Rochelle Ure
Shelby Varughese
Alison McGavigan
Leanne Smith
Ashley Robertson
Dale Tam
Krista Ference
Luke Horcica
Susan Green
Tanya Kowacz
Kendra Dolski
Alan Gordon
Beth Turtle
Alyssa Lefaivre
Anna Maria Cuglietta
Caroline Finlan
Elena Sacluti
Jacquelyn Pylypiuk
Les Dowhaluk
Marvin Ludtke
Sandro Berardocco
Katherine Hay
Brandon Sterling
Sirous Ghafuri
Tanya Hoffman
Shane Thompson
Henry Van Schellen
Peter Borges
Margaret Petrin
Brent Elaschuk
Clint Ludtke
Ashley Wade
Lucy Resendes
Todd Branch
Colin Rietveld
Karen Petrone
Nancy Romeo
Nicole Stabile
Reyda Duzic
Sandy Haun
Massage Addict
Ron Kubsch
Jen Godden
Alicja Brown
David Rawani
Kai Choi
Lindsay Buhler
Kyle Powell
Laurie Balfour
Lisa Hamdon
Larry Krushelnitzky
Deborah McGuire
Ben Wagemakers
Barry Robertson
Kieran Bowes
Mark Elgood
Barbara Burrows
Dan Matthys
Kim Simmonds
James Wachowich
Mel Johnson
Rene Tardif
Marinella Barth
Mark Solikowski
Heather MacKenzie
Sheila Pratt
Reanna Rehman
Brittany Bryce
William Clarke
LeAnne Chorney
Kieran Dunleavy
Donni Marano
Jacob Wood
Paul Sipek
Graminia School
Darrell Skarban
Collin Steffes
Linda Dunn
The Mental Health Foundation raises funds and mobilizes resources to create a barrier-free, easy-to-navigate, and fully integrated addiction and mental health system.
$804,984 disbursed to addiction and mental health programs
Full-time Staff
Board Members
Mary Pat Barry Board Chair
Mike Saunders Vice-Chair
Josh Benko Treasurer
Peter Bevilacqua
Deb Manz
Charlene Butler
Ben Horcica (Past Chair)
PJ White
Gord Gilroy
Cory Wosnack
Tim Varughese
Cody Lakevold
Jeff Strank
Programs
Facility Enhancements
Patient Supports
Education and Awareness
| Revenue | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Donations and Fundraising | $ 1,506,419 | $ 941,442 |
| Investment Income | 56,528 | 74,843 |
| Alberta Health Services funding | 54,000 | 48,000 |
| 1,616,947 | 1,064,285 | |
| Direct Funding Expenditures | 148,600 | 166,123 |
| 1,468,347 | 898,162 | |
| Expenses | ||
| Administration | 307,046 | 245,103 |
| Excess of Revenue Over Expenses Before Other Income (Disbursements) |
1,161,301 | 653,059 |
| Other Income (Disbursements) | ||
| Realized gain on marketable securities | 37,606 | 35,682 |
| Unrealized gain (loss) on marketable securities | 27,398 | (35,266) |
| Disbursements | (804,984) | (791,368) |
| (739,980) | (790,952) | |
| Excess (Deficiency) of Revenue Over Expenses | $ 421,321 | $ (137,893) |
