2023 Hope Campaign: In Support of the Breaking Free Foundation
2023 Hope Campaign: In Support of the Breaking Free Foundation - Written by Jourdan Tymkow
The Grief and Trauma Healing Centre is honoured to present the fourth annual Hope Campaign and this year’s recipient, the Breaking Free Foundation! The Hope Campaign began in November 2020 in honour of The Grief and Trauma Healing Centre’s founder’s (Ashley Mielke) father’s 10-year anniversary of his death by suicide as a way to inspire hope in times of great challenge. Inspiring hope is the foundational value and purpose that lies at the heart of this campaign, as it is often hope that is the only shred of light in somebody’s darkest moments. It is hope that cannot be seen in the present, but rather a flicker of something inspiring that lies in the future. Each year, The Hope Campaign supports one local non-profit organization or charity that is doing meaningful, mental-health related work in the community.
In first year, The Hope Campaign sold hope shirts and raised $5455 for the Canadian Mental Health Association of Edmonton and their suicide support services. In 2021, The Hope Campaign sold hope shirts and raised $6215 for Kaleo Collective to help fund counselling services for single mothers and children. Last year, The Hope Campaign hosted a Hope Brunch and raised $28,000 for Little Warriors to help fund the trauma treatment journey for more than a dozen children at the Be Brave Ranch. This year, The Hope Campaign is supporting the Breaking Free Foundation, a registered charity supporting accessible trauma treatment with a goal to raise $5000 though direct donations!
The Breaking Free Foundation aims to provide survivors of traumatic life events with support and holistic treatment that empowers them to reclaim their lives. Using a variety of therapeutic modalities, the Breaking Free Foundation offers various approaches for treating trauma, as they recognize that trauma affects everybody differently, yet are all headed in the same direction - to healing. Using their Therapy Grant Program, the Breaking Free Foundation offers trauma treatment to individuals in need for up to $750 worth of sessions in Alberta. If needed, applicants can apply two times, with a total of up to $1500 of trauma treatment.
The Breaking Free Foundation is the organized efforts of seven like-minded people who came together in 2013 with a common goal to make an impact in the trauma community. Recognizing how prevalent trauma is in Canada (which has the highest prevalence of PTSD out of 24 countries studied by the National Centre for PTSD with an estimated 9.2 per cent of Canadians who will suffer from PTSD in their lifetimes), this group of people came together following the success of the first Victor Walk (a walk to raise awareness for those affected by child sexual abuse), which was an initiative created by Calgary Flames alumni, Theo Fleury. The Breaking Free Foundation is a volunteer-run organization whose name says it all - their goal is to help people break free from trauma, heal, and grow. With our goal of raising $5000, we can together support the Breaking Free Foundation in helping nearly 7 people access trauma-informed treatment!
Donate to this year’s campaign by following THIS link and click “write us a comment” with “The Hope Campaign” or “HC” in the text box. You can also follow us throughout the month of November on our IG page @griefandtraumahealingcentre to learn more about the incredible work that the Breaking Free Foundation does across Alberta and how you can support their mission to provide survivors of traumatic life events with the treatment and support needed to reclaim their lives.
Blog Written By Jourdan Tymkow
Jourdan Tymkow is a Master of Counselling Clinical Intern on our team.
Grief has been a close companion throughout much of my life – losses through human and animal deaths, relational partings, significant identity and worldview shifts, and heartache prompted by legacies of colonialism and climate change lived heavily within me for many years. These sticky feelings and perspectives diminished my sense of vitality, belonging, and openness, which were compounded by traumatic experiences that made me want to protect myself from the world at all costs. It wasn’t until I started my own therapeutic journey that I began to metabolize my grief and trauma safely and be able to live my life with a sense of expansion, peacefulness, play, and open-heartedness. This has led me to my passion and purpose - holding space for others in their shifting of grief and trauma. - Jourdan
To learn more about Jourdan or to book a session with them, click here.