Courtnall Society for Mental Health

Home
Canada
Victoria, BC
Courtnall Society for Mental Health

Directions Website Contact the organization

The Courtnall Society for Mental Health was established in 2021 by Geoff, Russ and Bruce Courtnall.

The Society’s is dedicated to raising funds in order to provide grants to support organizations working to help those with mental health challenges.

11/01/2026

November is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and it’s something that hits a little closer to home. Archie was an amazing father and husband, a dedicated coach who spent so much time coaching his kids’ sports teams, and someone who was always checking in on others to make sure they were okay. He showed up for the people in his life, gave so much of himself, and was someone who genuinely cared about others.

From the outside, it seemed like he had it all. But what people saw on the surface didn’t tell the whole story, and not everyone knew the pain he was carrying inside. I think that’s what makes this conversation so important. We can know someone, love someone, see them every day, and still not fully know what they’re struggling with.

I wish talking about mental health felt easier. That asking for support didn’t come with the fear of being judged or feeling like you’re putting your problems on someone else. That people knew they could be honest about how they’re really doing without feeling like a burden.

We can’t always know what someone is going through, but we can make sure the people in our lives know they have someone to turn to. Someone who will listen, without judgment, and remind them they don’t have to figure everything out on their own.

We also know there’s still a lot of work to be done when it comes to mental health care and support. We’re not mental health professionals, but through what we do, we hope to help raise awareness and funds for grassroots mental health initiatives in our community that are working to make a difference.

Please check in on others and make space for the honest conversations, even when they’re hard. And if you’re the one struggling, you matter just as much as the people you’re always showing up for. You are not a burden, and you don’t have to carry everything alone.

Pictured above: Cheryl, Geoff, Archie, Bruce, Russ, Kathy, and their family dog, Stumphy.

11/01/2026

November is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and it’s something that hits a little closer to home. Archie was an amazing father and husband, a dedicated coach who spent so much time coaching his kids’ sports teams, and someone who was always checking in on others to make sure they were okay. He showed up for the people in his life, gave so much of himself, and was someone who genuinely cared about others.

From the outside, it seemed like he had it all. But what people saw on the surface didn’t tell the whole story, and not everyone knew the pain he was carrying inside.
This is what makes this conversation so important. We can know someone, love someone, see them every day, and still not fully know what they’re struggling with.

I wish talking about mental health felt easier. That asking for help didn’t come with the fear of being judged or feeling like you’re putting your problems on someone else. That people knew they could be honest about how they’re really doing without feeling like a burden.

We can’t always know what someone is going through, but we can make sure the people in our lives know they have someone to turn to. Someone who will listen, without judgment, and remind them they don’t have to figure everything out on their own.

We are very aware there’s still a lot of work to be done when it comes to mental health care and support. We’re not mental health professionals, but through what we do, we hope to help raise awareness and funds for grassroots mental health initiatives in our community that are working to make a difference.

Please check in on your people, and make space for the honest conversations, even when they’re hard. And if you’re the one struggling, you matter just as much as the people you’re always showing up for. You are not a burden, and you don’t have to carry everything alone.

10/14/2026

🏃‍♀️ Our first-ever Royal Victoria Marathon Charity Pledge Program! 💙 On Sunday, October 11th, our team took part in the 2026 Royal Victoria Marathon for the first time, completing the 8K on a beautiful morning in Victoria.🏃‍♂️ Royal Victoria Marathon

Congratulations to everyone who participated, whether you ran the full marathon, the half marathon, the 8K, or walked the course. And a big thank you to everyone who came out to cheer on the participants. It was great to see our community come together for such a good cause.

We also want to thank everyone who donated, shared our fundraiser, and supported our team along the way. Thanks to your support, we raised $2,800! These funds will help support small, grassroots charities in our community that are working to help improve mental health and well-being and make a meaningful difference in the
lives of those they serve.

We’re grateful to everyone who helped make our first year of the program a success and are excited to continue supporting mental health in our community. See you at the 2027 Royal Victoria Marathon! 💙

10/02/2026

October 1–7 is Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Awareness Week! BPD is a mental health condition that can affect how someone experiences and manages emotions, relationships, behaviour, and their sense of self. It’s part of a group of conditions known as personality disorders and is often misunderstood or surrounded by stigma (American Psychiatric Association, 2022; National Institute of Mental Health, 2024).

BPD is a diagnosis that is often misunderstood and can carry a lot of stigmas. Learning more about it can help us move past the stereotypes and better understand the experiences of people living with BPD.

We’re not mental health professionals, but we believe that sharing information and learning from one another can help make mental health feel a little less difficult to talk about.💛

10/01/2026

October is ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) Awareness Month. When people think about ADHD, they often picture someone who can’t sit still, is easily distracted, or is getting into trouble at school. But it doesn’t always look like that.

Sometimes it looks like putting something off for days—even when you really want to get it done. Knowing exactly what needs to be done, thinking about it constantly, and still feeling unable to start.

Sometimes procrastination comes with anxiety. The longer the task sits there, the more overwhelming it feels. You worry about getting it wrong, running out of time, or why you can’t seem to just get started.

It can also affect organization, time management, attention, and completing tasks. For many people, these challenges continue into adulthood, and some people aren’t diagnosed until later in life after years of wondering why certain things seem harder than they do for everyone else (National Institute of Mental Health, 2024; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2026).

ADHD isn’t always obvious. Sometimes it looks like someone who seems to have it all together on the outside while working incredibly hard just to keep up on the inside. This month, we’re making room for those experiences, too.

10/01/2026

October is ADHD (Attention – Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) Awareness Month!🧠When people think about ADHD, they often picture someone who can’t sit still, is easily distracted, or is getting into trouble at school. But it doesn’t always look like that.

Sometimes it looks like putting something off for days—even when you really want to get it done. Knowing exactly what needs to be done, thinking about it constantly, and still feeling unable to start.
Sometimes procrastination comes with anxiety. The longer the task sits there, the more overwhelming it feels. You worry about getting it wrong, running out of time, or why you can’t seem to just get started.
It can also affect organization, time management, attention, and emotional regulation. And for many people, these challenges continue into adulthood. Some aren’t diagnosed until much later in life, after years of wondering why certain things seem harder than they do for everyone else.

ADHD isn’t always obvious. Sometimes it looks like someone who seems to have it all together on the outside while working incredibly hard just to keep up on the inside. This month, we’re making room for those experiences, too.

Sources: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2024) • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2026)

10/01/2026

October is OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) Awareness Month. This year’s focus on amplifying lived experience and challenging stigma around OCD is an important one. Listening to people who live with OCD and moving beyond the stereotypes is a big part of that.🫶

(American Psychiatric Association, 2024)

10/01/2026

09/01/2026

September is Su***de Prevention Awareness Month. Every year, we come back to this month with the same hope: that more people will feel comfortable talking about mental health, asking for help, and checking in on the people around them.

For us, this work will always come back to Archie. His loss changed our family and ultimately sparked the work of the Courtnall Society. What started with one family’s heartbreak became a commitment to making mental health part of the conversation — in our homes, our schools, our workplaces, our locker rooms and our communities.

One person can start something that reaches thousands. Archie’s story started a conversation that continues today, and we’re grateful for everyone who has helped carry it forward.

Su***de prevention doesn't always look like a big conversation or knowing exactly what to say.

Sometimes, it’s smiling at a stranger.
It’s sending the text you’ve been meaning to send.
It’s picking up the phone and calling someone you haven’t heard from in a. while.
It’s inviting someone for a coffee, a walk, or dinner.
It’s noticing when someone seems different and asking, “Everything okay?”
It’s listening without trying to fix everything.
It’s checking in again tomorrow — not just once.
It’s making room for someone who feels alone.
It’s reminding someone that they matter.
It’s helping someone find support when they don’t know where to start.

These things may seem small, but connection matters. We never know what someone is carrying, or how much a simple moment of kindness might mean to someone having a difficult day. Check in. Reach out. Listen. Stay connected.

For Archie. And for everyone who is still here. If you or someone you know is struggling or needs someone to talk to, there are some mental health and crisis resources available across Canada.

9-8-8 Su***de Crisis Helpline - Call or text 9-8-8 — available 24/7 across Canada.
Kids Help Phone - Call 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868 — available 24/7 for young people in Canada
Hope for Wellness Help Line -Call 1-855-242-3310 — available 24/7. Online chat available 24/7. For First Nations, Inuit and Métis people across Canada.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 9-1-1.

08/30/2026

Grief touches everyone. Most of us know what it’s like to miss someone. To have a song, a place, a date, or a simple moment suddenly bring someone back to mind. To have good days and then, without warning, have a hard one. Grief doesn’t always look like sadness. Sometimes it’s anger, exhaustion, distraction, or simply not feeling like yourself.

August 30 is National Grief Awareness Day. Today, we’re recognizing the many ways grief can show up in our lives, and the people carrying it, often quietly. There’s no timeline for grief, and there’s no right way to do it. If you’re grieving, you’re not alone. And if someone you know is grieving, you don’t need to have the right words. Sometimes, just being there is enough.

Address

155/1843C Oak Bay Avenue
Victoria, BC
V8R0A4

Website

http://courtnallsociety.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Courtnall Society for Mental Health posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.