Movember and the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride (DGR) announce over $5 million in program support for Veterans and First Responders

Movember will invest over $800K CAD towards Canadian First Responder and Veteran Mental health initiatives

TORONTO, Oct. 21, 2020 /CNW/ - Leading global men's health charity, Movember, in partnership with The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride (DGR), announced the launch of a new grant program that aims to improve the mental health and well-being of veterans and first responders. An initial investment of $5.7M¹ over the next two years will support Veteran and First Responder initiatives in Canada and Australia as well as First Responder initiatives in the UK, New Zealand, Ireland and the US. This includes a funding allocation of $898,000 CAD for programs located in Canada. Applications for grants are open until November 23, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. EDT. For more information about the grants program, eligibility and process, visit movember.com/vfrgrants.

The purpose of the Veteran's and First Responder Grants program is to identify current programs that show promise in improving the mental health of men in these groups. Movember seeks to build evidence for effective interventions through rigorous evaluation so that over time programs that have been proven to work can be rolled out to more communities globally.

"In the key Movember and DGR markets of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States, veterans and first responders experience higher rates of poor mental health and suicide compared to men in the general population," said Dr. Donald McCreary, Senior Consultant In Men's Health and Workplace Stress, Health, and Resilience. "This funding will help us identify programs that show promise and ultimately help to improve mental health and well-being for those protecting us on the front lines every day."

Movember has been dedicated to funding mental health programming in Canada since 2013. The funding for this new grant initiative follows Movember's programming model: finding and supporting scalable, evidence-based programs focused on early intervention and prevention to ultimately prevent suicide and improve mental health and well-being amongst a particular community. A minimum of eight programs will be funded across all countries.

"Firefighters, paramedics, police and military veterans are on the front line of our community each day, and they are also disproportionately affected by suicide and mental health issues, given they are likely to be exposed to various workplace stressors throughout their careers, including regular traumatic events," says Brendan Maher, Movember Global Director of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. "We're proud to be providing support to these groups of men in the community, along with their families through our grants funding program, and to build evidence around approaches and programs that truly make a difference. We're also grateful for the collaboration offered by our program partner, The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride."

Since 2012, The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride has been working to raise awareness and funds for Movember and men's health. The funds for the Veterans and First Responder grant program come directly from those raised through the annual global Distinguished Gentleman Rides, many of which include a number of participants who have either served in the military or worked in the front lines as emergency response.

For a copy of the Veteran and First Responder Mental Ill Health and Suicide Prevention report published by Dr. Donald McCreary, visit movember.com/vfrgrants

Note to Editors: 
Movember strongly encourages the inclusion of appropriate help-seeking information for stories about suicide and mental illness. For support at any time, day or night, we encourage Canadians to reach out to one of the following services: Suicide Prevention Service (Toll Free: 1-833-456-4566 - ENG, 1-866-277-3553 ? FR) or the Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868). For more help-seeking information, visit Movember.com/findhelp. 

About Movember
Movember is the leading charity changing the face of men's health on a global scale. The charity raises funds to deliver innovative, breakthrough research and support programs that enable men to live happier, healthier and longer lives. Committed to disrupting the status quo, millions have joined the movement, helping fund over 1,250 projects focusing on mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. In addition to tackling key health issues faced by men, Movember is working to encourage men to stay healthy in all areas of their life, with a focus on men staying socially connected and becoming more open to discussing their health and significant moments in their lives. The charity's vision is to have an everlasting impact on the face of men's health. To donate or learn more, please visit movember.com

SOURCE Movember Canada