Help lowering suicide rates amongst depressed veterans by growing and grooming a mustache

Today marks the halfway point of the 2016 Movember fundraising campaign, and with only 15 days left for men to grow and groom their facial hair, it should be noted Movember has raised money to help veterans with their mental health.

Since the early days of the Movember initiative, the organization has funded The Men’s Depression and Suicide Network, based out of UBC, to the tune of $2.8 million.

The initiative has helped former Canadian Peacekeeper Kevin Swain who served in the Middle East. He has since dealt with severe PTSD, a condition that led him to attempt to take his own life some years ago.

The network, funded in part by the Movember initiative, has been a great help to him as well as many other service men suffering from similar symptoms.

“I went through a very dark period in my life, and it was after I started sharing that I was able to turn things around. Sharing with the Movember community, sharing with my family and just sharing in general. When I started to share, I was able to begin healing, and the people closest to me had the ability to be part of the process,” he explained.

The Men’s Depression and Suicide Network comprises five projects meant to help men get out of the cycle of depression. One of these projects it a Men’s Transition Program that works alongside Veterans to reduce depression and suicides amongst college age men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The Contact! Upload play, in collaboration with the Veterans Transition Network, also funded by Movember, is part of this initiative. The play, co-developed by Veterans, tells the story of soldiers as they transition back to Canada after deployments.