History

One of Canada's Oldest Non-Profits

The Canadian Mental Health Association is one of the oldest national, charitable organizations in Canada and the oldest national mental health charity. Each year, CMHA divisions and branches across Canada provide service to more than 100,000 Canadians through the combined efforts of more than 10,000 volunteers and staff in locally run organizations in more than 135 communities. Visit CMHA National's website for more information.

CMHA was founded in 1918 by Dr. Clarence M. Hincks, Dr. Charles K. Clarke, and Clifford W. Beers as the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene. The original goals of the organization centred around war recruits, mental examination of post-war immigrants, prevention, and support for adequate facilities and care for the treatment of mental illness.

Dr. Hincks became director of the association in 1924. He developed an interest in patients whose work and productive lives were hampered by what was then seen as malfunctions of the mind. He suffered from periodic bouts of depression all his life, so his empathy toward his fellow sufferers, coupled with a profound knowledge of medicine and early twentieth-century psychological developments in Europe revolutionized the conditions and treatment of mental health patients in Canada.

CMHA is uniquely positioned in Canada as a charity that brings together community-based experience and expertise on the prevention of mental illness and community supports for the mental well-being of all Canadians. We are not only unique in our mental health promotion approach but also in our ability to speak to issues spanning the broad range of mental disorders and the full spectrum of those affected from those at risk, to those newly diagnosed, to those who have been living with a psychiatric disability over the longer-term, as well as family, friends, and community gatekeepers.

CMHA BC's Beginnings

In 1952, with the assistance of Clarence M. Hincks, British Columbia saw the creation of a BC Division of CMHA. The office started with a federal mental health grant which was gradually diminished over three years as other sources of funding were found. CMHA volunteers became involved in the support of patients at Riverview Hospital and ran the thrift store. At one point, BC Division had employed more people with mental illness than any division in the country. Throughout its history, the division has advocated for changes to legislation and policy affecting people with a mental illness ensured the availability of community alternatives, access to housing, and income supports. In its monitoring and systemic advocacy role, BC Division has played an important role in the reform of the mental health care system, as well as in community-based research and evaluation, employment supports, public education, and branch support. This history would not be complete if it did not also reflect the pride BC Division has felt being part of a network of CMHA branches in communities across BC whose grassroots involvement and direct services – such as housing, employment services, crisis lines, and support groups – have touched the lives of countless British Columbians. CMHA BC Division was officially incorporated on October 6, 1953.

CMHA Simon Fraser

Established in 1958, the Canadian Mental Health Association - Simon Fraser Branch (CMHA-SF) has been providing essential social services to persons with mental illness in the Fraser North region, which includes New Westminster, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, and Pitt Meadows. While our society has advanced in many ways in the decades since CMHA-SF’s inception, the need for support, understanding, hope, and the elimination of stigma still persists. We need to remember that mental illness is not a lifestyle choice, but something that could happen to any of us, and if it were to happen, we would hope a compassionate community would reach out to help.

To meet the needs of the community over the last twenty years, our primary focus has been on running housing services, which constitute one of the basic kinds of needs in assisting a person to become stable and work on their lives.

• 1989: CMHA-SF started a housing program with the purchase of Bluebird House. We now run two other transition facilities in New Westminster, the Barnabas house and the San Mateo apartment, plus two transition houses in Maple Ridge.

• 1989: We started a Rent Supplement Program in partnership with BC Housing through a contract with Fraser Health.

• 1991: We became the provider of the Supported Independent Living Program in New Westminster through a contract with Fraser Health.

• 2000: We started providing the Youth Supported Independent Living program, which is a collaborative project between CMHA-SF, BC Housing, Fraser Health, and the Ministry of Family Development, providing housing and support to enable youth (ages 16 to 21) with mental illness to live independently in the community.

• 2001: Our organization changed its name from the New Westminster Branch to the Simon Fraser Branch in order to match the Simon Fraser Health Region.

• 2004: We rented and started Riverside Transition House under contract from Fraser Health. Much of the furniture was donated from Riverview.

• 2005: On March 5, we opened the thrift store, providing training for clients and revenue for the Association.

• 2006: In Maple Ridge, we started a Homeless Outreach service, bought Riverside Transition House (previously rented), and rebuilt and started Shepherd Transition House.

• 2007: We moved from Columbia Street to uptown New Westminster.

• 2008: We started Bounce Back Reclaim Your Health, whereby people with mild to moderate depression are referred to us for treatment.

• 2009: We negotiated to move our office and thrift store to our current location at 435 6th St, New Westminster and rebuilt the premises to suit our needs.

• 2010: We started to utilize social media, establishing a Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube presence. We started to plan our Miles for Mental Health Run & Walk. We also started a recycling business.

• 2011: We held our first annual Miles for Mental Health Run & Walk, supported financially by Douglas College, Van City, 270 run registrants, and many in-kind donations by businesses. See our list of donors for more details.

We continue to grow, evolve, innovate, and try to focus efforts where they are needed most. Service and respect for people who experience mental illness or distress is always at the very heart of our work. In order to ensure we are giving optimal service, we produce annual client satisfaction surveys.