For the past four years Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) has hosted a 24-hour Bike-A-Thon for men’s mental health.
The initiative was started by a group of electrical instructors following the tragic loss of one of their students to suicide.
“His instructor felt that nobody was talking about what happened and that conversations about mental health and suicide were absolutely not happening on campus,” says Jenna Smith, events and communications specialist with KPU's Community Engagement and Major Events.
The main goal of the event is to start a conversation about mental health in the trades. Suicide is the leading cause of death among trades workers — something Smith says is especially shocking given the safety concerns within the industry.
The event brings together the KPU community as participants take turns riding stationary bikes at KPU Tech.
“In the trades campus and trades in general there’s a sense of got to be a tough guy and I think breaking through that right on ground level makes a big difference,” says Nick Bransford, KPU Student Affairs.
The event is popular with frontline workers such as the Surrey Firefighters who see first-hand how mental health affects those in the community.
“As firefighters we go to calls all the time involving people in a mental health crisis and we’ve worked with a bunch of people who have experienced the same thing. It’s pretty near and dear to our hearts,” says Surrey firefighter, Ryan Cole.
This is the third year Cole and his team have participated in the event and according to him, he looks forward to the event for years to come.
Last year the initiative raised $6,700 in donations for Movember. This year, the goal is to surpass that amount. If you’d like to donate, the Bike-A-Thon donation page is open until the end of November.