More than 100 gather for Reid's Fight for Life rally in Winnipeg
The steps of the Manitoba Legislative Building were full of people supporting mental wellness in Manitoba on Sunday.
More than 100 people gathered for Reid's Fight for Life rally and to talk about improvements to mental health treatment in the province.
"[People] can't be complacent, they can't hide behind their doors, they have to get involved," Bonnie Bricker said.
"We can't afford to be lazy and not involved in this."
The rally honoured Bricker's son, Reid, who died after suffering from depression.
Reid disappeared following his release from the Health Sciences Centre in 2015 where he was under care for attempting suicide. It was the third time in less than two weeks he had been admitted for trying to take his life.
Partial remains were found in the Red River in June. After DNA analysis, Reid's parents received confirmation that it was their son.
Manitoba family physician Susan Hauch said, unfortunately, Reid's story isn't isolated. It is estimated that one in five Canadians will develop a mental illness at some time in their lives.
"More alarming is actually the youth in Canada," Hauch said. "Between [the ages of] 12 and 19, there are 3.2 million Canadian youth at risk of depression and about two million with depression, of which suicide is the leading cause of death in that age group."
Hauch added that mental health issues are often stigmatized.
"Mental health issues affect Canadian society in many different ways and we need to find ways that we can affect change at all the different levels — medical care level, societal level, community level, and individual level," she said. "We need to start somewhere."
