City councillor Sadie Hunter has started a team for the annual Ride Don't Hide event (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

RIDE DON'T HIDE

Kamloops councillor assembles Ride Don’t Hide team to raise awareness about mental health

Jun 30, 2020 | 4:04 PM

KAMLOOPS — Sadie Hunter didn’t want COVID-19 to stop her from spreading the word about mental health.

“The Canadian Mental Health Association does a lot of good in our community, and every dollar that we raise in this fundraiser will stay in Kamloops,” she said. “I was pretty vocal about the fact that I have my own mental health struggle and I think a lot of people do. I think it’s high time that we take a more holistic approach to integrating mental wellness and physical wellness. There’s no distinction.”

Hunter put a team together for Ride Don’t Hide. It’s a fundraiser for CMHA Kamloops. Hunter convinced her fellow city councillors Bill Sarai and Arjun Singh to join.

“It’s a common concern. It’s a common issue people have. So it’s something I think we all, no matter where you are in life, sometimes you have mental health concerns or issues,” noted Singh. “The CMHA does lots of great work in terms of helping folks with counselling and with resources.”

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The team’s goal is $1,000. They have until September to do it. CMHA Kamloops has extended the virtual fundraiser.

“One of the reasons we decided to extend it to September is because our other fundraising events had been cancelled,” said CMHA Kamloops Shelley Trudeau. “So this way, it gives us an opportunity and a platform to continue raising dollars for the community. Ride Don’t Hide is a really great way to do that — bring mental health into the open.”

Hunter wants to carry on the momentum that’s occurred in recent years around mental health.

“Some people experience mental health struggles in a more acute way, so around an event or a certain life experience, and then others have a condition which is with them lifelong,” said Hunter. “So just even understanding the differences and experiences, but there’s some shared commonalities.”