Vancouver Canucks support ‘mind check’ and the In One Voice’s pledge for mental health

Given the power and reach that the Vancouver Canucks have, I’m really thrilled that they have thrown their support behind one of the causes most near and dear to my heart: mental health. You may (or may not) know that I co-organize (with my dear friend Isabella Mori) Mental Health Camp, an unconference focused on the intersection of mental health and social media, and on de-stigmatizing mental illness. In the course of their life, 1 in 5 Canadians will suffer of some form of mental illness, yet we continue to stigmatize them and avoid talking about them.

Professional sportspeople are not immune to being afflicted by mental illness, and the late Rick Rypien was one of these, an amazing Canadian hockey player with the Vancouver Canucks, who died last year. Rypien reportedly had a long history of having suffered from depression.

Both the Canucks of Kids Fund in conjunction with BC Childrens Hospital Foundation are proud to support the promotion of Mindcheck.ca , a web site for youth and young adults that offers tools to check mental wellbeing and support for mental health challenges.

Vancouver Canucks are calling on BC residents to add their video to the “In One Voice” campaign with Fraser Health’s Mental Health Services division. From what I have read, Kevin Bieksa was the first of his teammates with whom Rypien confided battling depression, and it is really encouraging that Bieksa and the Vancouver Canucks support this campaign so boldly. Kevin Bieksa’s In One Voice’s pledge is shown below.

I really hope this campaign takes off, because if there is one thing that we need more is awareness and resources to support folks who are struggling with mental health issues. A video that explains the campaign in more detail is shown below. Please feel free to share this post with your networks.