The Royal Bank of Canada has been promoting its Children's Mental Health Project a lot recently over the radio. I decided to look up what it is all about. Since 2009, the RBC Children's Mental Health Project has donated more than $6.5 million to 125 organizations across Canada.
RBC narrowed their focus to two areas so that their donations can make a significant, measurable impact. They give their grants to programs that focus on early intervention as well as those that help reduce stigma through public education.
Since most mental disorders begin in childhood or adolescence, early intervention is extremely important. If the signs of mental illness are recognized early and appropriate interventions are taken, children can go on to lead normal and productive lives.
Sadly, there is significant stigma attached to mental illness, which often discourages individuals and families from seeking help. RBC looks to also fund organizations that provide public education to reduce stigma. Parents, caregivers, teachers, and professionals who work with children can all benefit from increased education, so they can recognize the early signs of mental illness, and help or encourage the family to seek treatment from a health professional.
This isn't my bank, but I think much more highly of them now!
2 comments:
What a relevant post for today, October 10th, World Mental Health Day. This year the theme is precisely, “Investing in Mental Health”, and Bank of Canada seems care and know enough to be involved. Thank you Christine.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_mental_health_day/en/index.html
http://www.wfmh.org/00WorldMentalHealthDay.htm
Youth mental health has a huge gap in services and I think stigma is big barrier for most people, especially children/youth. Great post. Glad to see RBC (which is one of the banks I have an account with) is using the interest they collect from my Student line of credit and putting it to good use.
Love T
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