Fundraising run to aid youth mental health
Addressing Alberta youths’ mental health needs is an ever-expanding task, says a woman leading the effort.
That’s why a new charity run set to leap out of the blocks later this year is so important, said Elaine Raivio, program manager for child and adolescent health with AHS.
“We feel it exponentially growing on a regular basis,” said Raivio, whose department deals with patients from early infancy to late adolescence.
In the Calgary zone alone, mental health care experts help 12,000 youths, a number whose growth is, in one way, heartening, she said.
“That’s quite a number of young people we serve but we want people to identify mental health as an illness to be addressed and not kept quiet,” Raivio said.
To raise funds and awareness for those kids, RBC has teamed with the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation to launch the RBC Race for the Kids, to be held Sept. 24 at Heritage Park.
Raivio said the fundraiser, which involves an entry fee, hopes to attract 1,500 to 3,000 people in its first year, “and I’m hoping to double that.”
It’ll include a 5-K family run and 1-K kids’ dash, along with a pancake brunch and prizes.
It’s a fundraiser that’ll heighten the profile of an affliction that results in 70 per cent of adult mental health issues, Raivio said.
Suicide is an all too common byproduct of mental illness among youths, she notes.
“It’s the second-leading cause of death among adolescents, so it’s pretty significant,” Raivio said.
For more information on the September event, go to childrenshospital.ab.ca/rbcraceforthekids.