There are a lot of statistics when it comes to mental illness.
Twenty per cent of Canadians will be personally affected by mental illness, whether it's their own illness or that of a close friend or family member.
Eight per cent of adults will experience severe depression at some point in their lives, and perhaps most harrowing of all, suicide accounts for 24 per cent of deaths amongst 15 to 24 year olds and 16 per cent amongst 25 to 44 year olds.
Super Jam was held at Battlefords Provincial Park Saturday to raise awareness of mental illness and help send kids to camp through Tim Hortons Children's Camp program.
The event featured live music, a presentation about the importance of spending quality time with family, bouncy castles for kids and silent auctions and a 50/50 for adults.
Event organizer Bev Vanderpost put forward the idea of the event because of how mental illness has changed her life.
"Four years and three months ago we lost our son to suicide," she said. "He worked at the Tim Hortons children's branch in Alberta. He loved the camp and working with the kids, it was just something that inspired him. The year after he started working there we lost him, so our mission was to keep his story going. With friends of ours that have the music part covered we put this together and called it the Super Jam."
Vanderpost says she hopes events like these can help educate people to see the signs of depression that aren't always easy to notice.
"We had absolutely no idea that our son suffered from anything," she said. "He was an honour student, he always had a smile on his face, he planned for the future and he was always helping people. It totally knocked the wind out of my sails and put our lives in a completely different direction. It broke my heart that he couldn't say to us 'Mom, I'm sad.' People have such a misdiagnosis of it. It's not people that look sad that are mentally depressed. It's not about the look on your face, it's on the inside. To this day people are still embarrassed about it. When someone breaks their leg and gets a cast, everyone wants to sign it, but when you say 'I suffer from bipolar mental depression,' everyone backs away. I want to let everyone know it's OK to say 'I suffer some days.'"
The Vanderposts have been involved in spreading the word about mental illness ever since their son's passing, including other events like a memorial golf tournament in Ontario where they used to live. That event raised $20,000 for the youth centre in Uxbridge.
"Ever since the day of his funeral my husband and I said in lieu of flowers, why don't we set up a charity to the Tim Hortons branch. It's just a part of who we are now. We want to keep sending kids there. We're not letting his story end."
The contributions of the Vanderposts efforts have led to 14 kids going to the Tim Hortons camp so far. They have also been able to purchase a paddleboat and computers for the camp.
Despite the huge monetary donations they have been able to raise, Vanderpost says the goal of their events is to just raise awareness.
"The money helps send kids to camp, but at the Tim Hortons camps they're training their counsellors to notice children who might be suffering from depression," she said. "The mental depression and suicide awareness are obviously close to my heart, so that's more important. Some kids are starting to suffer from depression as early as 10 years old, so in future years I'm hoping to have speakers at events. I want to have more suicide awareness."
Vanderpost says the signs of depression aren't easy to see, but there are some tell tale signs that are noticeable.
"For teenagers you might notice things like a major behavior change," she said. "All the sudden they're quiet and want to stay in their room more, they change their sleep habits, and some show outbursts of rage or cry more. Something that's totally different from their normal behaviour."
She says getting people to open up is crucial to discover if they're suffering.
"Just talk to them and ask them questions," she explained. "'How are you feeling?' Or at dinner just say 'how was everybody’s day today?' Just keep open dialogue with your kids all the time because they might not even know they're suffering. They just keep building and building and building and then, poof. Just like my son."
She encourages anyone who may be suffering to talk to someone about his or her illness, even if it's not someone close to you.
"Call a hotline," she said. "Sometimes telling your friends isn't easy because you feel like you might be judged. When you call a hotline or talk to a counsellor, no one is judging you. I think that's why a lot of kids are scared, because it's their friends. Just mention it to somebody, a teacher or a friend’s parent. Don't give up. There is always somebody out there to listen to you."
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in Canada can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.
