Mental Health Matters.

Our annual Mental Health Matters event consisted of various organizations that came together to bring awareness to the on-going mental health crisis and shed light on the disconnect we have here in Thunder Bay. Due to the increase in overdoses, sexual assault and drug use in Thunder Bay, we decided to focus on these businesses this year. Due to Covid-19, we had to keep our public health in mind. Our goal is to make this event bigger next year and bring more awareness to the on-going crisis we have in Thunder Bay. There were 187 suspected overdoses reported in July and August 2021, according to our local health unit. This number has grown substantially since 2017. We are in a crisis; we need to talk about it and provide resources for those in need. We hope you will join us next year as we continue to grow this event.
Thank you to the many organizations that accompanied us and made this event possible, a special thanks to all of the inspiring guest speakers, to Beefcake’s Burger Factory for sponsoring our lunches, to Tim Hortons Memorial for sponsoring our beverages, to the community members that stopped by and educated themselves on some of the services and resources available in our community, to tbnewswatch.com and 99.9 The Bay, for spreading awareness and of course to Carolyn Karle and her resilient family and friends, for allowing us to honour her daughter Dayna who unfortunately passed away from a tragic unintentional overdose.

Mental Health & Wellness Local Resources:

 Please click each organization's logo below to access resources and information:

 Together, we can accomplish more.

Dayna Karle Memorial Campaign

​Dayna Karle was charismatic, beautiful, and brave; she lit up any room she walked into. Her laughter and sense of humour were contagious and she had a way of making everyone feel welcomed. Unfortunately, Dayna lost her life due to her struggles with addiction. This would forever change her family and friends' lives.
In partnership with Dayna's family and the Kelly Mental Health Foundation, we created a special campaign to help women in need; women just like Dayna. For more information about this campaign and how you can help, check out the link below.