Coast Mental Health

Nominations open for Courage

Past recipients of a Courage to Come Back Award. (image from Coast Mental Health)

Nominations are open for the 2024 Courage to Come Back Awards, presented by Wheaton Precious Metals.

The purpose of the awards is to pay tribute to those who have overcome overwhelming challenges and now give back to their community. They are the hidden everyday heroes that deserve to be recognized and celebrated for their contributions to our communities.

This recognition goes a long way to encouraging these individuals to continue their efforts to inspire those around them. It also gives them a platform to further promote the causes or issues that are important to them.

They are our role models.

People like Rachel Goldman, who has faced a lifetime of chronic illness and pain with great courage and strength. She is an accomplished TV and radio producer, and has always volunteered within her community. Goldman hopes that, by sharing her story, her struggle can be a force for hope for others. (See jewishindependent.ca/beautiful-life-despite-illness.)

People like Dr. Barney Jr. Williams, a residential school survivor and person recovering from alcoholism. Williams has made it his life’s mission to help others overcome alcoholism and addiction.

Like Alex Sangha, who is gay, lives with a mental illness, and is from a South Asian community where stigma persists. Today, he has become an inspirational creator of safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community.

Or Jodi Gray, a transwoman who overcame poverty, abuse, suicidal ideation and depression. She changed the narrative to create better solutions and systems of care.

The Courage to Come Back Awards not only recognize the lives of five remarkable people, but ensure that Coast Mental Health can continue to provide compassionate, meaningful support for anyone with the courage to come back from mental illness.

Coast Mental Health is one of the largest providers of community-based services for people living with mental illness in British Columbia. Each year, it provides essential services to 5,000 clients so they can find a meaningful place in their communities – a place to live, a place to connect and a place to work. To find out more about the programs and services offered, visit coastmentalhealth.com.

The Courage to Come Back Awards are given in five categories: addiction, medical, mental health, physical rehabilitation and youth. Award recipients will be recognized in person in front of more than 1,400 people at the Vancouver Convention Centre on May 23, 2024. They will receive media coverage and their stories will be shared on social media.

“As chair of the Courage to Come Back Awards, reading through the hundreds of nominations we receive every year is a moment I look forward to with great anticipation,” said Lorne Segal, president of Kingswood Properties Ltd. “All of them are true journeys of bravery, resilience and strength in the face of adversity. I am grateful to those that have the courage to share their stories with us.”

The deadline for nominations is Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. To nominate someone and find out more about the process, visit couragetocomeback.ca/nominations.

– Courtesy Coast Mental Health

Record-breaking Courage

The 2018 Courage to Come Back Award recipients, left to right: Suzanne Venuta (mental health), Josh Dahling (addiction), Ingrid Bates (medical), Jim Ryan (physical rehabilitation) and, in front, Alisa Gil Silvestre (youth). (photo by Norman Tam)

photo - The event was chaired by Lorne Segal, pictured here with his wife, Mélita — The event was chaired by Lorne Segal, pictured here with his wife, Mélita. *(photo by Alex Law)*

A record $3.1 million was raised at the 20th anniversary Courage to Come Back Awards on May 10 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The event was chaired by Lorne Segal, president of Kingswood Properties Ltd., and more than 1,800 people gathered to celebrate the extraordinary stories of triumph over adversity of the five awards recipients. Funds raised will go directly to Coast Mental Health to support those living with mental illness.

This year’s recipients were Josh Dahling (addiction), Ingrid Bates (medical), Suzanne Venuta (mental health), Jim Ryan (physical rehabilitation) and Alisa Gil Silvestre (youth). Venuta captured the essence of the evening: “If there’s only one thing you remember from my speech tonight, may it be this: that connections save lives. It did mine. Connections are what hold hope together and hope allows us to dream.” For more inspirational stories, visit couragetocomeback.ca/2018-recipients.

Each year, Coast Mental Health (coastmentalhealth.com) provides services to more than 4,000 people living with mental illness so they can find a meaningful place in their communities – a place to live, a place to connect and a place to work.

Call for nominations

Nominations for this year’s Courage to Come Back Awards are open until Feb. 12, 2016, 5 p.m. The annual awards recognize abilities, celebrate differences and give centre stage to six British Columbians who have overcome tremendous challenges, yet reach out to help others in the province.

Courage recipients show us that people can walk again despite the predictions of some of the best medical minds. They teach us that disabled does not mean unable. They prove that hearing voices in one’s head does not mean a lifetime in hospital. These are valuable members of our community despite injury or illness: they are role models.

Nominations are open only to residents of British Columbia and the nominee must agree to be nominated for a Courage to Come Back Award. All nominees will receive a special certificate of nomination, which pays tribute to their outstanding courage.

A team of volunteer health professionals and community leaders will select one recipient in each category to be honored with an award. If your nominee is unsuccessful, he or she can be nominated again next year.

Any material submitted to Coast Mental Health will not be returned. Coast makes every effort to verify nominee stories but takes no responsibility for errors or omissions, and Coast reserves the right to place nominations in their award categories. Video or CD nominations are not accepted.

To nominate someone, tell the nominee’s story of a courageous comeback accurately and in detail. Submit only one nomination form for the nominee, and submit a minimum of three letters of support and testimonials, and optional supplemental documents, to [email protected]. Nominations will not be considered complete or eligible until a completed nomination form and all mandatory letters of support have been received.

Once you have clicked “submit,” an immediate message should appear confirming your nomination has been successfully submitted. You will also receive a confirmation email.

To read about past honorees and to access the nomination form, visit couragetocomeback.ca/courage-to-come-back-awards.