Sun Life commits $10,000 to Foundry Kelowna's Mobile
Health & Wellness Unit, providing mental health and
health care services to young people
KELOWNA, BC, Sept. 17, 2020 /CNW/ - As the COVID-19 pandemic
continues to impact the mental and financial health of Canadians, a
Sun Life survey indicates that 68 per cent of young Canadians (age
18-34) say their mental health has been negatively impacted by
COVID-19. The survey also highlights that 71 per cent of
British Columbia residents report
negative affects on their mental health because of the
pandemic.
Mental health is one of the key health concerns of our time and
Sun Life is committed to building a more resilient Canada, where Canadians are empowered to take
charge of their mental health journey. As the company works to
address the mental health crisis, Sun Life is committing
$10,000 to Foundry Kelowna's Mobile
Health & Wellness Unit to serve youth in the community who
require mental health support.
"We are excited to be working with the Canadian Mental Health
Association (CMHA) Kelowna, a very
important United Way partner and operator of Foundry Kelowna, a
wellness centre where young people can find hope, help and support
when and where they need it," said Craig
Pelletier, District Director, Kelowna, British Columbia, Sun Life. "Working
closely with advisors every day, I see first hand the impact that
the pandemic is having on young Canadians. By working together,
we're helping to remove barriers and accessibility gaps for youth
and their families so they can access the mental health supports
they need."
A first of its kind in British
Columbia, the vision for Foundry Kelowna's Mobile Health
& Wellness Unit is to provide primary care, mental health
counselling and youth navigation/peer support services to young
people and their families in West
Kelowna, Westbank First Nation and Lake Country. With over half of British Columbia residents (56%) citing fear
of contracting COVID-19 as a factor negatively impacting their
mental health, this mobile unit will provide safe connections for
young people to the broader integrated services at Foundry Kelowna
and other youth services within each community.
"Working together with Sun Life will ensure that we have the
financial resources we need to provide a sustainable and reliable
opportunity for youth to have safe, non-judgemental care and
support," said Shelagh Turner,
Executive Director, CMHA Kelowna. "Providing mobile mental health
and health care services to youth where they are – in their space –
is a significant undertaking and Sun Life is helping us make it
possible."
Helping people live healthier lives is a key focus area of Sun
Life's sustainability strategy. By focusing on empowering Canadians
to act, bridging the gap between awareness and action, Sun Life is
removing barriers to effective treatment and recovery.
About the survey
The survey is based on findings of an
Ipsos poll conducted between July 24 and
July 27, 2020. A sample of 1,001 Canadians was drawn from
the Ipsos I-Say online panel aged 18 and older. The data for
Canadians surveyed was weighted to ensure the sample's regional,
age, and gender composition reflects that of the actual Canadian
population. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a
credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within
+/- 3.5% at 95% confidence level had all Canadian adults been
polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other
sources of error, including, but not limited to methodological
change, coverage error and measurement error.
About Sun Life
Sun Life is a leading international
financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and
asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun
Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including
Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong
Kong, the Philippines,
Japan, Indonesia, India, China,
Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of June 30,
2020, Sun Life had total assets under management of
$1,122 billion. For more information,
please visit www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New
York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the
ticker symbol SLF.
Note to editors: All figures in Canadian dollars
Media Relations Contact:
Alessandra Nigro
Director, Corporate Communications
T. 416-979-4884
alessandra.nigro@sunlife.com
SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc.