Catholic Vancouver May 05, 2022
Timely mental health resources arrived with Project Advance help
By B.C. Catholic Staff
One of the tragic stories of the pandemic is the mental illness crisis that has resulted, with the majority of Canadians reporting their mental health has worsened over the past two years. So the arrival of Catholic mental health resources from Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries early in the pandemic couldn’t have come at a better time.
In 2020, Project Advance made available crisis response grants in response to the pandemic. Sanctuary applied for a grant to create a mental health course for Catholics that included documentary-style videos with personal testimonies and interviews with experts discussing mental illness, self-care, grief, and companionship.
The timing was providential: By the end of 2020, the organization’s website had seen a 650 per cent jump in users.
In 2021 Sanctuary Mental Health Resources received a special grant from Project Advance to help create two new distinctly Catholic resources: When a Loved One Dies by Suicide and a parish resource for starting a mental health ministry.
Sanctuary’s mental health resources for Catholics would not have happened if it hadn’t been for the grants from Project Advance. Sanctuary’s Daniel Whitehead said the 2021 grant led to an uptake in the Sanctuary Course for Catholics, helping people not only in the Archdiocese of Vancouver but around the world “to end of the stigma around mental health challenges.”
As Project Advance launches its 2022 appeal, it’s inviting applications for this year’s special grants. Project Advance spokesperson Charissa Hurt said applications are being accepted until May 30 at 5p.m. Applications can be made at projectadvance.ca/grants.
After a two-year pause because of the pandemic, a Project Advance Commencement Mass celebrated by Archbishop J. Michael Miller took place at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Vancouver with a Knights of Columbus honour guard adding some special ceremony.
In a Project Advance video message marking the launch of this year’s appeal, Gather Us, Lord, Archbishop Miller said, “more than ever it’s time for us to come together.”