Millions of Canadians suffer from mental illness in silence. Today (January 28th) is the 4th Annual Bell Let's Talk day, where Canadians break the silence around mental illness and raise money to support mental health iniatives across the country. The more talk, the more action to help those in need.
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and Like us on Facebook.
This Tuesday, January 28th at 7:00 pm at Market Hall, Art For Awareness will be screening the DVD of their recent, original multimedia dance production Erasing the Stigma for local organizations. Art for Awareness (AFA) is a group of dedicated people committed to producing high-quality theatre with a social message. Erasing the Stigma addresses depression, anxiety disorders, postpartum depression, schizophrenia, addiction, eating disorders, the culture of technology/social media, suicide, the justice system, coping mechanisms, support workers, medication, and building hope through the use of real testimony via video clips, live music, original choreography and spoken word. The show seeks to normalize the struggles faced by people living with mental health issues in an educational, entertaining, and compassionate way. For more info on Art For Awareness and Erasing the Stigma DVD, email here. We covered Erasing the Stigma last year here.
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and Like us on Facebook.
Courtney Druce is a 4-time cancer survivor. Watch this promo she did for Canadian Cancer Society's Pink in the Rink fundraiser taking place February 6th at the Memorial Centre when the Peterborough Petes play Oshawa. Learn more about her here and how to donate.
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and Like us on Facebook.
Ingrid
[UPDATE: Huffington Post Canada picks up our story.]
Peterborough mother Susan Nelson has launched an impassioned Indiegogo campaign to help save her daughter Ingrid, who is fighting a serious Eating Disorder—and right now losing the battle.
Ingrid, 23, is in immediate need of being transferred from her current placement in a hospital in Ontario to a specialized residential ED program for life saving treatment. But Provincial Health Insurance does not cover residential treatment of Eating Disorders, so the family find themselves facing having to pay for Ingrid's treatment—something they simply can't afford to do.
The costs include four months at an Ontario residential treatment centre followed by months of private aftercare programs—both not covered by insurance.
Susan says on the Indiegogo campaign that not being able to afford treatment for their daughter is simply "one of the worst feelings any parent can imagine. There's nothing left for us to do other than ask for help from our extended community and beyond."
Ingrid, who is afraid she is going to die from the disorder—"I am barely alive," she says—writes that "Without a program, my eating disorder is becoming stronger and more intense, and I feel increasingly hopeless and consumed by this disease. My illness has progressed to a level out of my control. Unfortunately, they aren't experienced with eating disorders here at the hospital and I have continued to decline both mentally and physically. It is difficult for me to write honestly about the state I am in right now, as a huge part of my illness tries to minimize and ignore the severity of its hold on my life. But I have to push myself to face this reality, and to make others aware of what is happening."
Just days into the campaign, the family has already raised nearly $8,000 of their $60,000 goal—with 44 days left in the campaign. [**UPDATE January 16th: They've now raised close to $15,000.]
Make a difference: Help save Ingrid's life by donating to this campaign to raise money for the family to get her into the specialized program.
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and Like us on Facebook.
Peterborough's local and global world-changer Maryam Monsef is in another corner of the planet where she can't tweet as social media and many websites are censored/blocked there (we won't reveal location as it could make it unsafe for people she is with, she tells us).
We asked her in an email if she could tweet out a message (she loves Twitter, and the power of social media) to people back home in Peterborough and Canada, what would she say? Here it goes, and she asked us to share this with all of you...
"If I could tweet right now, I'd tweet about the reality check I got upon arriving here. I'd tweet about my health. How much I appreciate being an able bodied person and how stupid I was to do things to jeopardize it.
If I could tweet right now, I'd tweet about how much I miss being my own person in Canada, the ability to work, socialize, and to contribute to society. I can't go anywhere alone here. I can't be spontaneous. I am not encouraged to seek adventures. I am indoors 99% of the time and I miss riding my bike downtown.
If I could tweet right now, I'd tweet about how grateful I am to have a Canadian passport. That piece of paper guarantees me a safe and secure life in Canada, and the opportunity to visit any country in the world without the hassles the people here face.
If I could tweet right now, I'd tweet about my newfound appreciation for Family. The people who love you unconditionally, share sweet and not so sweet memories with you and want the very best for you. I have that kind of a family here and am blessed with the same kind of love from my Peterborough community.
If I could tweet right now, I'd tweet about the amazing little women who have declared themselves to the country's Red Pashmina reps and are determined to collect nominations of local women of impact, just as we have in Peterborough.
Basically, if I could tweet right now, I would be overtweeting more than ever because having so much to say and not having access to my favourite social media platforms is not good for my heart ;)
My goal for 2014 is to make better use of the skills, means and liberties my Canadian life affords me. Now I know without a doubt that I am the lucky 1%."
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and Like us on Facebook.
Next Thursday (December 12th) at Market Hall, Peterborough-based startup Redpath will be introducing their social network for mental health and addiction, along with the premiere of its Redpath YouTube video by local video company Whitebulb. The redpath model has been used offline for many years in communities to treat those in need. Now, bringing it online, this social platform will use technology to deliver real-time access to those in need. Redpath is about connecting the disconnected. You can follow redpath on Twitter @redpath_, and on Facebook at TheRedPath. Email info@redpath.io to RSVP or call 705-874-3048. See poster invite below...
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and Like us on Facebook.
The hairiest month of the year has finally arrived! Movember is a month that many men can’t wait for. As most of you know, this is a month dedicated to raising awareness and funds for mental health initiatives and to help battle prostate cancer.
To some, Movember is simply an excuse to grow the best duster possible and to wear it with pride. To others, such as myself, Movember means quite a bit more. Though I do enjoy the task of growing as good a moustache as possible, which I am terrible at by the way, it is the raising funds and awareness aspect that I take more seriously.
Though my immediate family has been relatively unscathed by cancer, I know many others that haven’t had such good fortune. Thankfully due to early detection, many of these people have beaten the odds and the cancer itself. I know this was only possible due to the research that doctors have been able to perform thanks in part to raised funds. I know they appreciate it when people take action to raise funds to further study and hopefully find more ways to treat and beat such a prominent cancer in today’s world.
So, as much fun as Movember can be for many Mo Bro’s and also Mo Sista’s, I ask that you not just grow a moustache for the fun of it, but that you attempt to make a difference by raising awareness and money for a worthy cause.
Prostate Cancer might not impact anyone in your family, but odds are at some point it will affect someone you know. The more money raised, the better our chances become of finding a way to beat it!
If you’d like to join our PTBOCanada.com team, we would love to have you on board. Or if you would like to donate to us, that would also be appreciated! Every donation counts in this ongoing battle! Together we can change the face of men’s health.
Find our PTBOCanada.com team here.
—by Aaron Elliott
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and Like us on Facebook.
Sarah Edge was only six weeks old when she first begin experiencing heart problems. By the time she was 15 months, and her health in severe decline, she was placed on a heart transplant waiting list. Her family was afraid Sarah would not make it, and she was down to only 15 pounds. After weeks on the waiting list, Sarah’s mother received the miracle call that the family had been waiting for: A heart had been found!
At 18 months old, Sarah received the heart transplant she so desperately needed. Throughout her treatment, she also needed 66 units of blood products to help beat the odds that were not in her favour.
Ten years later after her miracle heart transplant and the generosity of blood donors, Sarah is giving back. In celebration of her post-transplant anniversary, the 11-year-old from Peterborough hopes that the blood donor clinic she and her family are organizing will bring out donors willing to help save the lives of children like her.
Sarah’s Celebratory Clinic is Tuesday, November 5th from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Peterborough Blood Donor Clinic (55 George St. at the corner of George and Perry St.). Members of the community are encouraged to come out and support Sarah and other children in need of blood and blood products, as well as organs. Call 1 888 2 Donate (1-888-236-283) or go online to Blood.ca to book an appointment to donate blood. In addition, it takes only minutes to register to be an organ or tissue donor. Visit Beadonor.ca to find out how.
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and Like us on Facebook.
The Third Annual Peterborough Cycling Summit was held on Friday (October 25th) at the Holiday Inn and featured afternoon workshops to do with cycling both here in Peterborough and the Kawarthas, and stretching throughout the province. Although we couldn't attend all of the workshops, here is a look into a few of them...
This workshop had three speakers...
Kieran Andrews: “Cycle touring is way more than riding bikes. It’s about quiet roads, unique experiences and beautiful places. That’s what we’re all after.” While Kieran is quite content with just heading down an unknown road to see where it leads, it may not be your ideal decision when trying to plan a route with a limited time span. His main suggestion during his talk was to use MapMyRide.com as both a planning tool and a progress meter. Through the website, you can pick prospective cycling destinations (or find ones in your own area that others have recorded) to see both via map and elevation how challenging it may be, the road type (gravel, paved, etc.) and how much traffic it may see.
Louisa Mursell: Projects Director with Transportations Options, which is a non-profit organization that has been around for 20 years that helps to further develop sustainable transportation. Lately they have been working on tourism initiatives including cycling. Amongst their programs are Bike Train (to increase bike options for cyclists in Ontario), and Park Bus (bus transit to Ontario Parks locations).
Through the Welcome Cyclists network, they have discovered that cyclists were not fully satisfied with lodgings in areas. You can visit the Welcome Cyclists website to help plan trips, and find accommodations that are bicycle friendly and provide secure bicycle lock-up area. The accommodation must have local cycling maps or websites to help with this information, as well as access to repair tools or be in close vicinity to a bicycle shop. Healthy food and free access to water is also key as well. Prospective businesses that would like to join just have to sign up online (for free) and attend a Welcome Cyclists seminar. There are currently 65 businesses in the Kawartha-Northumberland-Peterborough area (most are in Northumberland County).
Susan Sauvé: Talked about touring through France by bicycle. She found the hospitality very good along with growing places that have public laundry and Wi-fi (although because of the differences in power outlets, sometimes it was tricky to charge your devices). Sue was pleasantly surprised to find so many bicycle trails and bicycle sharing programs throughout Paris. The three then fielded questions from the audience about cycling touring.
John McMullen let us know that that because of healthy lifestyles, and the effort to reduce greenhouse gasses, trails have become a major part of the Selywn township masterplan. The four main trails are the Lakefield Trail, the Bridgenorth Trail, the Ennismore Heritage Trail and the Trans-Canada Trail, but there are also many additional popular hiking trails. They have already had public consultations—through surveys and open houses—from which they learned that Bicycle lanes were one of the higher ranked things, followed by linking the areas together.
Displayed around the room were maps of each of the hamlets of Selwyn township. John asked everyone to put a sticker on the area in each hamlet where they would like to prioritize improvement.
This workshop's focus was on "Complete Streets" which is the design infrastructure and maintenance necessary for all road users to enjoy using the road safely. Each table tackled projects that are slated for construction in Peterborough during the next five years that currently do not have a design. Using cardboard placeholders, the idea was to design the layout of streets such as Chemong, Ashburnham, George and Water to incorporate access for both vehicles, bicycles and parking alike. Each game board had markers to indicate scale so each street layout had to comply with real-world dimensions. Afterwards, photos were taken and the layouts will be submitted as possible designs.
Attendees were welcomed to join a tour lead by Susan Sauvé and Urban Design Planner Brian Buchardt. They were treated to a short walk downtown to showcase elements of the current and future design downtown, such as our new footpath beside the train bridge.
The evening's events were opened by Donald Fraser who thanked such a passionate and growing number of attendees for coming. A message from Jeff Leal (who was unable to attend) was read that mentioned that the Ontario government is aiming for a 2031 date to both recognize cycling as a core mode of transportation and a goal to make Ontario the Number one province for cycling in Canada. The Ontario Cycling Strategy which was just recently released promotes a healthy and active lifestyle, tourism strategy and health benefits. This strategy will roll out through action plans throughout the coming years, with the first kicking off next Spring.
Eleanor McMahon from Share the Road read a letter on behalf of Glen Murray, the Ontario Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure who gave a nod to P-BAC, The Peterborough-County City Health Unit and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute-Lakelands District for their hard work. He also echoed the hopes to make Ontario a lead cycling destination.
City Councillor Lesley Parnell spoke on behalf of the Mayor and Peterborough City Council. They are pleased to support cycling culture in Peterborough and proud to promote all the health benefits that cycling brings. Mayor Bennett is a believer in the “A bike friendly city is a livable city, and a liveable city is a bike friendly city.”
Sue Suavé: The City passed a new updated Compressive Transportation Plan in 2012 which has 183 KM of bikeways in the City alone. They have $500,000 a year to spend on capital to make projects happen such as on multi-use trails and on-road bike facilities. Right now we have 55 km of the network built (30%). Sue showed how over the years our cycling network has expanded. In addition to the trails, we also now have 156 new bike parking spaces within areas such as downtown and East City which brings the total to 629 downtown.
For a sneak peek into future projects, Sue let us know about such things as…
Mayor Mary Smith from Selwyn Township and Chris Bradley from Director of Public Works for Peterborough County. Mary pointed out how many County Councillors were in attendance as they are committed to building trails and do the appropriate planning.
Chris Bradley: The Transportation Masterplan was recently completed which contained updated walking and cycling processes (which are different between the County and the City). Some of the improvements to come are shared road-lanes (which are already being constructed in Smith Township), paved shoulders, designated striped bike lanes, separated buffered bike off-road multi use trails, and a lot of active transportation planning still to come. Chris shared a sidenote: that when the Public Works Department Building on Armour Road was redesigned for use, showers were added for when people cycled or ran to work. Chris mentioned that they are trying to link the communities and are always trying to consider the needs and the potential for bike lanes (and walkability of the roads). Cycling lanes are suggested for the Gifford Causeway (which runs between Bridgenorth and Ennismore) and reconstruction on Ward Street which is slated to be widened. Input from last year's cycling summit has already gone into the new masterplan. One important area that Chris highlighted was Airport Road. They are just completing the final design now for reconnecting it and the project is moving forward.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Karen Lee whose topic was "The Role of Design and Infrastructure in Addressing Cycling and Health". She talked about how history repeats itself with the infectious diseases of the 19th century and the chronic diseases of the 21st century. Through infrastructure changes, there was a decrease in infectious diseases, however something needs to be done for our current issues. Dr. Lee displayed a disheartening animation of Diabetes trends among U.S. adults from 1994 to 2009 which also equates to higher medical costs. This trend also applies to Canadians as we aren't getting enough exercise. It was suggested that we could again correct this through infrastructure changes to encourage active transportation and greater access to physical activity. Side benefits included a reduction of infrastructure costs and job creation. Our favourite slide had some Peterborough statistics that compared 1947 to now. While our 65+ population has slightly risen, Peterborough has less people per acre, has more employment in the Service Sector, and the percentage of City's Non-Food Retail Space in Downtown has actually dropped considerably. Be sure to view Dr. Karen Lee's presentation and also take note of New York's Fit-City initiative that has promoted healthy living through design.
You can view each presentation on the P-BAC website.
[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and Like us on Facebook.
Parks Not Parkways Campaign is trying to stop the building of a massive
bridge and arterial road through two of the most beautiful greenspaces
in Peterborough. Learn more about the campaign in this
amazing aerial video footage of the park...
[via Parks Not Parkways]
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and Like us on Facebook.
Upcoming Events
sponsored by
PTBOCANADA is a website about Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Copyright ©2010-2022, PTBOCANADA Media Inc. All rights reserved.
