Riding for Mental Health Awareness in support of "Ride Don't Hide"

One of our members Patti Kipper from Canada shared why she's riding in June.

“Ride Don’t Hide”  is a virtual campaign to help bring attention to Mental health, support our community and support our own mental health

"This spring, I will be one of the thousands of Canadians riding—and spinning, walking, running, doing yoga, meditating, —to raise $330 and help CMHA get one more person the help they need.

So many of us don’t feel like themselves these days, and the pandemic is making it harder to get help. 

The pandemic has taken a toll on our mental health. Almost half of our entire population is worse now than before the pandemic. That’s almost 20 million people. But things are even worse for some people: for people who were already struggling with their mental health and for those with a disability. For women, and people who identify as LGBTQ+. For Indigenous people,  Black people and other people of colour. For people with low incomes.

Even before the pandemic, 1.6 million people in Canada were missing out on mental health care every year. Now we’re staring down an echo pandemic of mental health issues. We know that the mental health effects of COVID-19—including anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, increased substance use—will last long after the pandemic subsides.

Ride Don’t Hide helps people get back to themselves. 

This spring, I am riding to take care of my own mental health. 

And I am taking care of my community too. The $330 I raise will help CMHA get one more person the help they need sooner. It will also reduce pressure on a health care system already hit hard by COVID-19.