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Canadian Mental Health Association
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is a Canadian non-profit mental health organization that focuses on resources, programs and advocacy. It was founded on April 22, 1918, by Clarence M. Hincks and Clifford W. Beers. Originally named the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene, it is one of the largest and oldest non-profit mental health organizations operating in Canada.
Each year, CMHA divisions and branches across Canada provide service to more than 1.3 million Canadians annually through the combined efforts of more than 10,000 volunteers and 5,000 staff in locally run organizations in more than 300 communities in every province. Its functions are to provide the resources and programs necessary to combat mental health issues and support recovery. The CMHA runs multiple programs a year focused on raising awareness for mental health issues while supporting partner organizations and relevant initiatives. The association is also known to release public statements addressing different laws, regulations, and governmental initiatives that affect mental health.
The Canadian Mental Health Association originally started as the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene (CNCMH) in response to the hundreds of soldiers returning from World War I experiencing mental illness. Veterans were placed in prisons and asylums and Clarence M. Hincks noticed the lack of support, doctors and treatment inside these institutions, thus creating the need to change. Hincks, unsure how to proceed, partnered with Clifford W. Beers who had experience in the National Committee of Mental Hygiene in the United States to bring mental hygiene to Canada.
The first official meeting of the CNCMH was held in Ottawa on April 26, 1918. A provisional constitution was adopted, C.F. Martin, Professor of Medicine at McGill University, was elected President, Charles Kirk Clarke was appointed Medical Director, and C.M. Hincks was appointed Associate Medical Director and Secretary.
The meeting aimed to devise a plan to best assist those already in need as well as to establish preventative measures in the future. This included objectives like a psychiatric and mental examinations of recruits, insuring adequate facilities for diagnosis and proper treatment for soldiers returning suffering from a mental disability or disease, and prevention of mental disease and deficiency.
Hincks then worked on finding doctors, creating a Board of Directors, and gaining donors to build his committee. With an importance of having a team of approved medical professions, Hincks discovered C.K. Clarke, Dean of Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and the medical faculty of McGill. Hincks selected 18 members for his Board of Directors, including well known names like Lord Shaughnessy, President of the CPR; Richard B. Angus, Montreal financier and philanthropist; C.F. Martin, Professor of Medicine, McGill University; Sir Vincent Meredith, President, Bank of Montreal; and F.W. Molson, President of Molson's Brewery.
Hincks utilized co-founder Clifford W. Beers personal experience in mental health as a tool to share during "drawing-room meetings", or afternoon teas with influential women in order to gain the support of their wealthy friends. The strategy was extended to homes of friends in Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa, and it proved successful by recruiting an impressive list of potential members and donors.
One of the first opportunities for the association was a project given by Lieutenant Colonel Colin Russel who asked CNCMH to visit all mental institutions—jails, schools, hospitals, and special homes—in the province of Manitoba caring for soldiers. Russel had previously visited these sites and was distressed with the conditions of the facilities as well as the treatment and hoped to change them.
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Canadian Mental Health Association
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is a Canadian non-profit mental health organization that focuses on resources, programs and advocacy. It was founded on April 22, 1918, by Clarence M. Hincks and Clifford W. Beers. Originally named the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene, it is one of the largest and oldest non-profit mental health organizations operating in Canada.
Each year, CMHA divisions and branches across Canada provide service to more than 1.3 million Canadians annually through the combined efforts of more than 10,000 volunteers and 5,000 staff in locally run organizations in more than 300 communities in every province. Its functions are to provide the resources and programs necessary to combat mental health issues and support recovery. The CMHA runs multiple programs a year focused on raising awareness for mental health issues while supporting partner organizations and relevant initiatives. The association is also known to release public statements addressing different laws, regulations, and governmental initiatives that affect mental health.
The Canadian Mental Health Association originally started as the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene (CNCMH) in response to the hundreds of soldiers returning from World War I experiencing mental illness. Veterans were placed in prisons and asylums and Clarence M. Hincks noticed the lack of support, doctors and treatment inside these institutions, thus creating the need to change. Hincks, unsure how to proceed, partnered with Clifford W. Beers who had experience in the National Committee of Mental Hygiene in the United States to bring mental hygiene to Canada.
The first official meeting of the CNCMH was held in Ottawa on April 26, 1918. A provisional constitution was adopted, C.F. Martin, Professor of Medicine at McGill University, was elected President, Charles Kirk Clarke was appointed Medical Director, and C.M. Hincks was appointed Associate Medical Director and Secretary.
The meeting aimed to devise a plan to best assist those already in need as well as to establish preventative measures in the future. This included objectives like a psychiatric and mental examinations of recruits, insuring adequate facilities for diagnosis and proper treatment for soldiers returning suffering from a mental disability or disease, and prevention of mental disease and deficiency.
Hincks then worked on finding doctors, creating a Board of Directors, and gaining donors to build his committee. With an importance of having a team of approved medical professions, Hincks discovered C.K. Clarke, Dean of Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and the medical faculty of McGill. Hincks selected 18 members for his Board of Directors, including well known names like Lord Shaughnessy, President of the CPR; Richard B. Angus, Montreal financier and philanthropist; C.F. Martin, Professor of Medicine, McGill University; Sir Vincent Meredith, President, Bank of Montreal; and F.W. Molson, President of Molson's Brewery.
Hincks utilized co-founder Clifford W. Beers personal experience in mental health as a tool to share during "drawing-room meetings", or afternoon teas with influential women in order to gain the support of their wealthy friends. The strategy was extended to homes of friends in Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa, and it proved successful by recruiting an impressive list of potential members and donors.
One of the first opportunities for the association was a project given by Lieutenant Colonel Colin Russel who asked CNCMH to visit all mental institutions—jails, schools, hospitals, and special homes—in the province of Manitoba caring for soldiers. Russel had previously visited these sites and was distressed with the conditions of the facilities as well as the treatment and hoped to change them.