It is a major public health issue facing Canadian society today. No one is immune. From school children to seniors, from health-care workers to military personnel, from the lowest to the highest income levels, mental illness has no boundaries.

One in five Canadians will experience some form of mental illness in their lifetime; one in 12 worldwide. Mental illness can range from a single bout of reactive depression to the more serious disorders like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. It’s time for all Canadians to take a closer look at how we can support each other to promote better health for all of us.

Mental Health is the Church’s Business is a not-for-profit initiative to promote mental health awareness and to encourage the development of supports for people of faith in our various communities. Volunteers have come forward to be a part of this initiative from across the Golden Horseshoe, and we anticipate that this movement will continue to grow and spread to communities within the province and eventually, across the country.

This initiative comprises a series of meetings: round-tables, town halls, youth events, and an annual conference, all of which are targeted to faith communities for the purposes of providing education, empowering church leaders to develop strong mental health supports within their church bodies, and to create environments within faith communities where people with mental illness can feel safe and supported, and free to live out their chosen faith. These meetings will run throughout the year, with our major events taking place in February, April, and October 2019.

We are currently seeking the following to partner with us and provide valuable information to our event participants:

• Community mental health service providers
• Addictions programs
• Community centers that run mental health support programs
• Christian bookstores, or providers of faith-based mental health resources
• Fee-for-service mental health and addictions services
• Programs that offer services in Children’s Mental Health
• Community groups such as AA, NA, or Al-Anon
• Employment services that support mental health

We are asking all participants in the Information Fair to pay a nominal fee of $100 for a display area for your booth/table display (area comprising approximately 8 x 8 ft). This fee will assist the organizing committee to offset the expense of running the event. As a participant in our Information Fair, you will receive the following:

Your contribution will be acknowledged publicly at each event,

• Your agency name and logo will be recognized in all our online, social media, and print marketing materials, and in the conference program given to attendees
• Your company logo will be displayed onscreen at each event
• Your kiosk will have high visibility placement in the conference resource area for attendees to visit between sessions.

We are currently seeking in-kind donations of:

• Food items to offset catering costs, e.g. hot foods, sandwiches, subs, ingredients that can be prepared by volunteers such as rice, potatoes, meat, vegetables
• Beverages (non-alcoholic), e.g. cases of bottled water, soda, juice
• Meeting space in which to host our events
• Gift bags for conference attendees (paper or plastic)
• Promotional items from your business to be placed in each gift bag

As a contributor, you will receive the following:

• Your donation will be acknowledged publicly at each event
• Your contribution will be recognized in all our online, social media, and print marketing materials, and in any “swag bags” given to conference attendees (Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter)
• Your company logo will be displayed onscreen at each event
• Your marketing materials will be placed in the conference resource area for attendees
• For contributions over $25 in value, you will be given a tax receipt for your charitable donation.

Your generous support will help us give hope and bring real solutions, training, and much-needed mental health supports to thousands of children, youth, adults, and seniors in faith-based communities across the Golden Horseshoe and beyond.

For further information about Mental Health is the Church’s Business, please contact Dr. Elaine Brown Spencer, Project Coordinator directly at (416) 728-1345.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and support and we look forward to your positive response. Together we can help!