(Halifax, NS – April 3, 2024) The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia has awarded $1.8 million in funding to 87 community-based mental health initiatives through the first round of its biannual Community Grant program. This funding enables organizations across the province to deliver crucial services, supports, and education relating to mental health and wellness, mental illnesses, and addictions.
“Our Community Grant program shows us what Nova Scotians are looking for when it comes to supporting mental health needs in their communities,” says Starr Cunningham, President & CEO of the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia. “Our grant recipients, donors, partners, sponsors, volunteers and staff are driven to meet these needs and create opportunities for Nova Scotians to build resilience, recover, and thrive.”
Funded projects are designed to engage a wide range of populations including youth, women, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, seniors, Indigenous and Black Nova Scotians, and immigrants. Project programming addresses areas such as complex trauma, mental health education and training, suicide prevention, addiction, neurodiversity, mood disorders, grief, eating disorders, and psychosis.
Camp Hope, a healing retreat for survivors of child and youth sexual abuse and their families, was awarded $18,675 in Community Grant funding. Corporal Mark Sobieraj, an investigator with the Nova Scotia RCMP Major Crime Unit, initiated its creation. This will be the camp’s second year of operation, taking place from September 27-29, 2024 at Brigadoon Village.
“The heartbreaking reality is that there’s a need for additional supports for survivors and their families in Nova Scotia. The overwhelming response to Camp Hope last year showed us that,” says Cpl. Sobieraj. “This funding will allow Camp Hope to provide a safe, nurturing space for families requiring support to continue their healing and recovery journey. It’s money donated by Nova Scotians for Nova Scotians, and it shows Camp Hope families that the entire province stands behind them.”
The full list of funded recipients can be found here.
The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia awards Community Grant funding twice a year, made possible in part with support from the Nova Scotia Office of Addictions and Mental Health. Eligible projects can receive up to $25,000. Applications for the next round of Community Grant funding will be accepted from July 4-August 15, 2024. To learn more about eligibility and timelines, visit mentalhealthns.ca/grant-applications.
About the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia
The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia is a registered charity dedicated to increasing financial support to community initiatives that provide hope and eradicate the stigma surrounding mental illness and addiction. Its mission is to make a difference in the lives of Nova Scotians living with mental illness and addiction by funding mental health programs and services province-wide.
MEDIA CONTACT
Niecole Killawee
Manager of Communications
Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia
Niecole.killawee@nshealth.ca
(902) 717-5981