Shalom Counselling hosting dog fashion show for mental health

“Shalom Counselling Centre has experienced this firsthand. In 2021, Shalom served 1,007 clients and delivered 4,268 hours of counselling and therapy. Compared to 2020, that is an increase of 142 clients and 453 hours of counselling services,” he shares.

“Of the 4,268 hours of counselling delivered in 2021, 3,128 hours were subsidized. Sadly, in 2020 Shalom experienced donation declines of over 12 per cent compared to pre-pandemic 2019. In 2021 there were even greater donation losses of over 16 per cent compared to 2020.”

Overall, charitable donations to Shalom have declined by over 26 per cent from 2019, he adds.

Shalom also chose this form of fundraiser to shake up the process a little, and offer people a different type of way to raise awareness and connect.

Damsgaard says pets contribute greatly to our quality of life and mental health.

“Dogs provide unconditional love and motivate us to be more social. Dogs also help reduce depression, anxiety and increase our daily physical activity, giving us a sense of purpose. Studies show that human-dog interaction increases levels of oxytocin in the brain and that dogs interacting with their owners too showed increased levels of oxytocin,” he says.

“Oxytocin is commonly known as the ‘bonding’ or ‘feel good’ hormone. All of these factors prove that our dogs contribute greatly to our overall mental health and wellness.”

May 2-8 is also CMHA’s Mental Health Week.

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Shalom Counselling hosting dog fashion show for mental health

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