In 2009, Austen Berlet, a brother of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, took his own life due to bipolar disorder. Every year the brothers host The Austen Berlet Campout for Mental Health in his honor.
The Austen Berlet Campout for Mental Health is a fundraiser in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association. The event is an overnight campout at Victoria Park to raise money that will fund services for both the Western and London communities, be it hiring counselors, crisis support services or extra staffing for after hours.
The event is the April 1-2 weekend, where there will be a raffle, food, live entertainment, workshops with mental health training and keynote speakers, such as MPs of London, student council executives and other members of the London community.
This year, sponsors include Disney, Ripley’s Aquarium, WestJet, Via Rail Canada, Starbucks and The Keg, as well as other startup companies. Many of community partners get involved to spread the message and raise awareness about ending the stigma around mental health discussions and conversations.
This is the seventh year of the event, and in the past six years, it has raised just over $50,000 for CMHA.
One thing they started doing two years ago was putting money from the campout toward funding extra counselors during exam time to reduce wait times for students. Last semester, the CMHA, in collaboration with the USC, used money from the Campout to fund crisis support services on campus to help students who needed crisis support after Student Health Services had closed or if  University Hospital wasn’t available. It’s become a unique direct funding program that meets students’ needs more immediately than the typical community center or hospital.
The crisis support centre is found in Student Health after 5 PM when Student Health closes.
There is no entry fee for the event, as it is an open environment where people can feel safe and welcome to come and show that they have support, no matter what their mental health story might be, whether they were involved themselves or they know someone that has their own mental illnesses.
The event is starting to become a hallmark of Western and the London community to push talk and conversations about mental health and provide those services that currently are necessary and are lacking in the community.
Learn more about the event here.
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