Windsor residents joined nearly 8,000 of their fellow Canadians to take part in Canada’s largest community bike ride today. It happened in 29 communities across the country.
In Windsor, 300 cyclists rode anywhere from ten to 100 kilometres in the “Ride Don’t Hide” event. It's aimed at eliminating the stigma around mental illness and raising funds to support local services of the Canadian Mental Health Association. The Windsor event raised $60,000. It was part of a record $1.3 million dollars raised for mental health programs in Canada.
Initiatives like "Ride Don’t Hide" are aimed at changing attitudes about mental health and making it easier for people to speak up if they’re struggling with anxiety, stress or depression. The CMHA says that one in five, or about seven million Canadians, experience a mental health problem or illness in any given year. Only a third seek help, often due to the discrimination and stigma around mental illness.
