The Salvation Army Northridge Community Church in Aurora, Ont., hosted its first annual mental-health gala in September, bringing the community, supporters and partner organizations together to help raise funds for and awareness of the Army’s mental-health services.

The event was unlike previous fundraising initiatives by the Army in Aurora, emerging from conversations with volunteers who have been actively involved in other charitable work and who showed interest in supporting mental-health programming at Northridge. 

“We wanted the gala to be a fun night with real purpose,” says Angela Covert, community relations representative at Northridge. “We have a stunning space here, and the gala would bring people into this space to hear more, not just about our mental-health services, but everything else that The Salvation Army does.”

Northridge Community Church has operated mental-health services for approximately 10 years, though the demand for services has continued to increase. “Every individual who comes into our programs—whether for food, children or youth programming, or our homelessness prevention program—often has an underlying mental-health barrier that has triggered a lot of other barriers in their lives,” explains Covert. “Strengthening our support for mental-health services will help us better support them as they move forward.”

At the gala, guests were greeted by Salvation Army mascot, Shieldy, as they entered the church to live jazz music, followed by a pianist playing in the atrium during the main social reception. Community Living York Region, a local organization that provides services to individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities, and York Region Food Network, collaborated with The Salvation Army to provide food and drinks and share information about their services with attendees.

Guests then moved into the auditorium for speeches by Vicki Nishihama, psychotherapist at Northridge, Major Lori Mitchell, area commander, a member of provincial parliament and Aurora mayor, and a client of the mental-health programs at Northridge. “When I first asked her to speak at the gala, she agreed and said, ‘I participated in the Monday night emotional support group three years ago, and that put me on the path of now living and participating in my best life,’ ” Covert shares. “She came in the door through one of our peer-led groups, which gave her the foundation to move into one-on-one counselling and later join our more intensive STAIR (Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation) program.”

According to Covert, the client’s speech at the gala expressed that the setbacks she experienced in life were part of her journey. The programs she participated in at The Salvation Army gave her the skills to move past those setbacks rather than returning to the patterns that she was in before. 

With 160 people in attendance, the mental-health gala raised more than $28,000 between ticket sales, a live auction and donations. The funds generated by this event will benefit the future of mental-health programming at Northridge, as the church aims to increase overall capacity for group programs and reduce waiting lists.

“I’ve had the privilege of being out in our community and meeting individuals who have past experiences with The Salvation Army or who just appreciate what we do in the community and want to align themselves with us,” says Covert. “People believe in what we do, even if they may not have any faith, and they want to be tied to The Salvation Army.”

Photos: Silas Allen