 | Clara Hughes biked into St. Thomas early Saturday afternoon and spoke to gatherings at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital Saturday evening and the Talbot Teen Centre the next morning, part of the “Clara’s Big Ride” tour aimed at helping to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness. She rolled out of town on Sunday, having inspired those who met her and having started some conversations about mental health |
The only Olympian ever to have won medals in both summer and winter Olympics (in biking and speed-skating), it would be hard not to be inspired by Clara’s achievements, passion and enthusiasm. What brought her to St. Thomas, however, is her pursuit of another undertaking – a 12,000 kilometre, 110 day, 95-stop Canadian journey. The associated speaking engagements would be demanding on their own, but consider she will be riding 150 km or so to get to the stops as she did before arriving in St. Thomas. The promo shots for “Clara’s Big Ride” picture her in riding shorts – the garb required for the start of her ride in this exceptionally cold March has definitely been more substantial. Speaking on Saturday evening she laughed about the “wicked headwind” and getting a sunburn at zero degrees Celsius.
What Clara Hughes is doing is big and her goal is to make a big bold statement. But her aim is not to impress with athletic achievement but to get people talking about mental illness and to offer hope. In spite of her accomplishments, Clara found she had to deal with depression. On Saturday she noted, “I am someone who copes with depression and manages.”
“I learned in sport you can do nothing alone … It is the same with mental illness … If help is accessible you can get beyond it … The most important thing is breaking down the wall of stigma that is alive and well in all parts of Canada.”
The event at the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital also shone a light on and celebrated the fact that there are people working in our community to offer hope and to encourage conversation about mental health. For example, the accomplishments of the “Healing Palette” were showcased as part of the evening. Ann Sloboda and Deb Underwood have been instrumental in organizing and nurturing the annual event which features work by artists who have been touched by mental illness. For the past nine years the exhibition has allowed many of those artists to share their work with the community.
“I learned in sport you can do nothing alone … It is the same with mental illness … If help is accessible you can get beyond it … The most important thing is breaking down the wall of stigma that is alive and well in all parts of Canada.”
The event at the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital also shone a light on and celebrated the fact that there are people working in our community to offer hope and to encourage conversation about mental health. For example, the accomplishments of the “Healing Palette” were showcased as part of the evening. Ann Sloboda and Deb Underwood have been instrumental in organizing and nurturing the annual event which features work by artists who have been touched by mental illness. For the past nine years the exhibition has allowed many of those artists to share their work with the community.
Clara’s Big Ride will hopefully start hundreds of small but important conversations about mental health, eliminating the stigma associated with it and encouraging the work already being done in communities across the country.
Clara Hughes begins her ride from St. Thomas to Chatham, third stop on her tour.
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