Dad builds a lasting legacy to his daughter
The Dakota Bipolar Awareness Foundation is helping people learn about and address bipolar disorder while there’s still time
For the past four years, March has been an emotional roller coaster for Ken Millen.
His beloved 30-year-old daughter, Dakota, died on March 21, 2021 while suffering from a mental illness. In her honour, this Kelowna father founded the Dakota Bipolar Awareness Foundation (dakotafoundation.ca). March is Mental Health Month and March 30 is World Bipolar Awareness Day as declared by the International Society for Bipolar Disorders.
Now, when those dates come around, Millen has a mix of emotions: a renewed sense of loss but also gratitude for all the support he has received for the foundation and gratification at the multitude of bipolar patients it has helped.
He still has vivid memories of March
21, 2021. “It was a Sunday afternoon, I was laying on the couch and the RCMP showed up. The young lady officer asked: ‘I’m looking for Ken Millen.’ I said: ‘I’m home.’ She said: ‘Your daughter, Dakota, passed away this afternoon.’ And my world changed in that moment.”
Millen contacted friends who had some experience with foundations and they established the Dakota Bipolar Awareness Foundation with him as founder and president.
“We made a lot of mistakes as a family. We had no clue. We didn’t understand what she was up against. I made all these mistakes as a father, not understanding enough about bipolar — which are lessons, right? You learn from your mistakes. I thought: ‘Now, I’ve got to do something with this.’ Everything that I made a mistake on, now I’ll try and correct that,” he said.
“If Dakota, her family and friends had been aware of the illness and the severity of her condition, Dakota might have been helped earlier and most likely would not have become so depressed causing her to lose her life to street drugs,” says the website.
“There are different medications to treat bipolar (but so far, no cure.) Sometimes, the effectiveness of one does not work unbeknownst to the patient and doctor. As a result, the mentally ill will often self-medicate using street drugs or alcohol. These types of situations can be avoided if there was more funding for programs offering better patient monitoring within the medical community.”
Bipolar is “a bio-chemical condition that results in severe mood swings – manic (high) and depressive (low), hence the name bipolar. These mood swings can last days, weeks or months. The suffering and quality of life for that person and their families is devastating.
“These moods lead to risky behaviours, reckless activities and false beliefs along with drug use, excessive drinking, risky sexual activity and risky decisions. It also involves feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness and is excruciatingly painful.”
The foundation focuses on family counselling, not just counselling for the bipolar individual, Millen explained, adding an estimated two per cent of the population has bipolar mood disorder.
“Everybody knows somebody with it. Maybe you have a friend, somebody you worked with or a cousin or a relative. All the issues that they’re going through. My brother had it, so it’s genetic. I’ve read a lot of good books on it and a lot of people are now involved. Together, we’re moving some mountains. It’s been pretty exciting.”
Millen is currently working half-time for the foundation but in April, it will become full-time with so many events planned for this year, such as an inaugural golf tournament in August
The 2024 annual report outlines numerous community events last year, including three presentations of Comedy for a Cause, the Dream Rally (children riding in exotic and sports cars), the annual Miracle on 97th Street in November, fundraisers at the three Wings restaurants over Christmas and the Valentine’s Day Gala.
“The foundation’s reach has expanded dramatically with its social media presence growing to over 10,000 followers across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter,” says the annual report.
In addition to its social media outreach, the foundation maintains a robust biweekly mailing list to more than 900 subscribers. “These updates serve as a vital resource, providing news, insights and updates on the foundation’s work, and the broader landscape of bipolar mood disorder research and treatment. In a bid to promote early detection, the foundation also supplies educational material to high school counsellors. Early detection is critical in managing bipolar mood disorder.”
The foundation’s goal is raise $100,000 to provide individuals and families with counselling at Healthy Essentials Clinic. For every $2,500 in donations, the clinic can provide 15 hours of counselling for an individual or family.
“We are grateful for the support we receive from the Dakota Foundation. We have been able to advance our care and instil hope to those affected with bipolar mood disorder — one person, one family at a time, and make a difference,” said Christina Camilleri, clinic president and founder.
Millen originally started working with World Vision, a global humanitarian organization that focuses on poverty alleviation and development projects to improve the lives of vulnerable children and communities worldwide. Before he focused on the foundation, he had also been involved with Rotary