WQW CAMH Wednesday: My One Brave Night in memory of my brother Carey.

by Rob Sysak, March 7, 2018

On April 6, #OneBraveNight participant Shael will be playing the piano in honour of his brother Carey, a die-hard music fan. Read his story.

My One Brave Night in memory of my brother Carey

 

I’m taking the #OneBraveNight challenge because of my brother Carey. He struggled with profound mental illness for many years until it finally took his life in 1996.

That was a long time ago, and there have been many and myriad positive changes to the way we approach mental illness – new meds, therapies and programs to name only as few. CAMH has been at the forefront of these efforts for decades. Indeed, they were there for Carey at a time when it wasn’t necessarily OK to talk about it too loudly.

Carey was a die-hard music fan, so for my ONE BRAVE NIGHT I have decided to sit at my piano and sing. All night long. Until I fall over. I humbly ask you all to support me in my efforts to inspire hope for those living with mental illness by making a generous donation to my ONE BRAVE NIGHT event.

SPECIAL NOTE: As an added bonus, anyone donating $50 or more can submit a song to me that I will learn and play (at least attempt to) on April 6th. We’ll be posting to social media all night long so you can see it performed in all its – uh – glory. As well, the top benefactors will receive a personal invite to the Naughty Pine that night to hang out, have some drinks, and watch me play until I dissolve into a puddle. I’ts almost too good to be true.

Again, I am participating in ONE BRAVE NIGHT because I want to inspire hope for people living with mental illness now – and to defeat mental illness completely so that no one ever has to deal with Carey’s kind of pain again. By making a donation to my One Brave Night, you are helping CAMH improve access to care, conduct research to find better treatments, and build more spaces for healing.

This is our chance to step up! Please donate generously and help me reach my fundraising goal.

#OneBraveNight Wellness Tip

Build positive self-esteem:

• Treat yourself like a friend. Whenever you feel like being critical, be supportive and loving instead.
• Asking for help is not a sign of weakness it’s a sign of strength and a willingness to grow. Be proud of it.
• Help someone who needs it. You might find that making a difference makes you feel better about yourself.

Step up and defeat mental illness by donating or joining #OneBraveNight today!

What’s your One Brave Night? Step up to the One Brave Night Challenge on April 6, 2018. Register here.