It is estimated that 1 in 5 Canadians experience mental illness each year and by the time Canadians reach 40 years of age, 1 in 2 have, or have had, a mental illness. Together let’s continue to break the stigma surrounding mental illness and let those around us know that they are not alone.
Stigma
- In a 2019 survey of working Canadians:
- 75% of respondents said they would be reluctant – or would refuse – to disclose a mental illness to an employer or co-worker.
- Respondents were nearly 3 times less likely to want to disclose a mental illness like depression than a physical one like cancer.
- Top reasons for this reluctance were:
- the belief that there is stigma around mental illness,
- not wanting to be treated differently or judged, and
- being afraid of negative consequences, such as losing one’s job.
- However, 76% of respondents stated that they themselves would be completely comfortable with and supportive of a colleague with a mental illness.
The Joint Mental Health Committee is running a new t-shirt campaign to raise money for those experiencing mental illness and homelessness. Any proceeds raised from the sale of these shirts will go to the purchase of hot meals and toiletries for those experiencing homelessness.
The back of the shirt will be as pictured here.
The front of the shirt can be customized with two words of your choice. The thought behind this campaign is to use these shirts as conversation pieces. For instance, a member on our team has a family member who has schizophrenia and has also lost family members to suicide. Their shirt will have those words on the front, “schizophrenia” & “suicide”. We hope to keep the front of the shirts to a two (2) word maximum. If you would like to keep the shirt blank on the front, you are also welcome to do that.
Our vision was for these to be unique, and personal to you and your story. A means to start a conversation about sometimes difficult topics and personal stories. A means to break down stigma by humanizing mental illness and trauma.
Thank you for your continued support through these initiatives. The money and awareness that our plant has raised truly shows the strength and compassion of our Camily.
Shirts are $20.00 each.
Please email the 2 words of your choice to alexandra.mccoy@gm.com or tanja.lakic@gm.com, along with your order number.
Deadline to order shirts is April 18th.
Posted on behalf of your GM/Unifor Local 88 Joint Mental Health Committee