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Defeat Depression walk and run raises more than $25K

By Saturday morning hundreds of participants with the Sudbury Defeat Depression walk and run raised more than $25,000 for the Canadian Mental Health Association Sudbury/Manitoulin.
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By Saturday morning hundreds of participants with the Sudbury Defeat Depression walk and run raised more than $25,000 for the Canadian Mental Health Association Sudbury/Manitoulin. Photo by Jonathan Migneault.
By Saturday morning hundreds of participants with the Sudbury Defeat Depression walk and run raised more than $25,000 for the Canadian Mental Health Association Sudbury/Manitoulin.

May 23 marked the second time the national campaign has taken place in Sudbury.

“Our main goal is to raise awareness and reduce the stigma,” said Lori Glibbery, the walk's co-ordinator. “We want anyone with depression, or any mood disorder, to seek help.”

Glibbery got involved in the walk because her late partner, John Cowling, died due to his depression in 2013.

Many participants attended the event at Bell Park to honour their loved ones.
Don and Diane Wilson wore T-shirts with an image of their grandson, Matthew Paradis, who died of suicide in August 2013 at the age of 23.

“I only knew him for two years, and I loved him,” said Diane, who married Don after his first wife passed away. “He was a very likable guy. There were 500 people at his funeral.”

Paradis was a competitive hockey player and motocross athlete, and a well-like extrovert who could not access all the help he needed to deal with his depression.

Hélène Démoré, who participated in the event's four kilometre walk, said that while she there were around 300 participants Saturday, she had hope there would have been more.

“There are not as many people as I think should be here today, and I think that speaks to stigmatization,” she said.

Démoré works at the Child and Family Centre in Sudbury, and said they deal with depression issues every day.

Canadian Mental Health Association says around eight per cent of Canadians will experience a major depression at some point in their lives.

The funds raised Saturday will help support local programming from the Canadian Mental Health Association Sudbury/Manitoulin.

Those programs include supportive housing, case management and a youth and adult justice programs for people who suffer from a mental illness.

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Jonathan Migneault

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