October 10, 2025

A Mental Health Morning: Sharing Laughs and Stories of Hope, While Raising Over $50,000 for St. Joe’s 

Thank you to everyone who joined us on Wednesday, October 8, for A Mental Health Morning – presented by ArcelorMittal Dofasco. With thanks to the support of our guests, sponsors and speakers, this year’s event raised over $50,000 for mental health and addictions care at St. Joe’s. 
 
Taking place during Mental Illness Awareness Week, this year’s event featured celebrated Canadian comedian and author, Jessica Holmes. Guests were captivated by Jessica as she shared her candid story of grappling with depression after the birth of her second child and how she used her love of laughter, as well as therapy, journaling, physical activity and the unconditional love of her rescue dog, Ellie, on her road to recovery and well-being.   
 
Best known for her appearances on the hit comedy series Royal Canadian Air Farce and The Holmes Show, Jessica has also opened for celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Seinfeld and more. She is the author of the memoir Depression the Comedy: A Tale of Perseverance which explores her journey with performing, motherhood, and mental health.    
 
“I was very honoured to share my story at A Mental Health Morning and help raise funds for a cause that is so close to my heart,” said Holmes. “I struggled with post-partum depression and ‘regular’ depression for years, and I am fortunate to have comedy to help me cope. My greatest joy has been helping others to use laughter as a mechanism for finding connection, resilience and hope within themselves. Thank you for supporting mental health!” 
 
Another highlight of the event was the presentation of the 2025 St. Joseph’s Spirit of Hope Awards to three local champions in the community. The awards recognize an individual, organization and youth/youth group that have overcome mental health or addiction-related challenges or made positive contributions to these fields. Congratulations to all the nominees and this year’s recipients. The 2025 Spirit of Hope Award winners are:   

Group/Organization Category
YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford Men’s Residence

The YMCA’s men’s residences play a vital role in supporting mental health and promoting awareness around addiction. It’s more than just housing. This program acts as a comprehensive support ecosystem. With 174 beds the residence serves approximately 220 individuals annually.

Through partnerships with clinical professionals from St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Shelter Health Network physicians, City of Hamilton Street Outreach Workers, and Mission Services Housing and Harm Reduction Workers, a comprehensive, coordinated team surrounds residents with all the supports they need to address the whole picture of their life and make strides towards recovery. You might recall the Mens’ residence experienced a fire last year and recently reopened to bring back a vital lifeline for many in our community, and they are a most worthy recipient of this Spirit of Hope Award.

You might recall the Mens’ residence experienced a fire last year and recently reopened to bring back a vital lifeline for many in our community, and they are a most worthy recipient of this Spirit of Hope Award.

Individual Category
Marcie McIlveen

Marcie is a Peer Support Coordinator at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. She’s been open about her own struggles living with substance use disorder and mental health diagnoses.

She spent more than a decade living unhoused in various cities across Canada, and during these years, Marcie had frequent interactions with both the health care and criminal justice systems and attended rehabilitation programs multiple times. Eventually Marcie achieved stability with respect to her mental health and substance use and since then has dedicated her time, expertise and energy to helping others facing similar struggles.

She’s become a leading advocate and expert in the care of people who use drugs and those who are homeless in our community and is recognized for this leadership both locally and nationally. Marcie currently serves as the Peer Support Coordinator at St Joseph’s Hospital and the Director of Programming at the Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team.

Youth/Youth Group Category  
Farhana Chowdhury 

Farhana is a member of the Youth Council at the Youth Wellness Centre (YWC) at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, a mental health centre serving young people ages 17-25. In this role, Farhana uses her lived experience and personal knowledge of accessing mental health services to inform the work the YWC does and give back to youth who are going through their own mental health journey. 

As a Youth Council Member, Farhana has demonstrated initiative and leadership while ensuring to create space for other young people to share their perspectives. 

She’s played a key role in the development of many projects at the YWC to create a more comforting environment for clients. She helped to design and create a reading nook; supported the development of the Youth Council’s Community Handbook initiative and has been instrumental in creating a social media presence for the YouThrive stream of care. 
 
She was also part of a team that created a welcoming mural at the entrance of the YWC and uses her passion for graphic design to engage youth in mental health programming across the community.