(Melissa Kruyne and brother, Ryan, hope their $5 Million donation to The Royal and The Ottawa Hospital will strengthen access to mental health services across the community.)
The Royal and The Ottawa Hospital Foundation are proud to announce a transformational $5 million donation from the Kruyne family to improve access to mental health care across Ottawa, ensuring more people receive the treatment they need, when they need it.
The $5 million gift will be shared between The Royal and The Ottawa Hospital, and will:
- Improve access to timely, specialized mental illness and addiction care.
- Support the establishment of Eastern Ontario’s first Mental Health Urgent Care Clinic at The Royal.
- Advance innovative treatment and research through The Royal’s Interventional Psychiatry Program and Brain Imaging Centre.
- Create specialized EmPATH spaces within the Emergency Department at The Ottawa Hospital’s new campus.
- Drive mental health research, including repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive therapy for depression being advanced in collaboration with The Royal.
Inspired by the memory of a close friend who died by suicide, the Kruyne family hopes this investment will strengthen access to mental health services across the community and help create a future where fewer families and loved ones experience the devastating impact of mental illness.
The need has never been greater. One in three people will experience a mental illness or addiction in their lifetime, and on average 13 people in Canada die by suicide every day.
“Too many people in our community struggle to access the mental health care they need at the moment they need it most,” said Melissa Kruyne, on behalf of the Kruyne family. “This gift is deeply personal for our family. We have experienced firsthand the impact that mental illness can have on individuals, families and entire communities. By supporting two exceptional organizations, we hope to help more people in Ottawa access care earlier, find hope and build healthier futures.”
This gift announcement was made made on World Suicide Prevention Day, recognizing the critical importance of expanding access to timely mental health care and evidence-based treatments for people living with mental illness.
“Philanthropy has the power to transform mental health care and change lives,” said Chris Ide, President and CEO of The Royal’s Foundation. “The Kruyne family’s generosity will help The Royal expand access to urgent mental health care and personalized treatment for people across our region. We are incredibly grateful for their vision, compassion and commitment to supporting mental health in our community.”
“We are deeply grateful to the Kruyne family for this extraordinary investment in mental health care,” said Tim Kluke, President and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation. “Their generosity will help create access to care that would not have otherwise been possible. It will provide calming spaces and faster care for people experiencing mental health crises and advance research that can lead to better treatments. Most importantly, this gift will help ensure more people in our community can access the right care at the right time — when they need it most.”
By supporting innovative treatment options, rapid access to care and collaboration between leading health-care organizations, the Kruyne family’s investment will help improve outcomes for people living with mental illness across Ottawa for years to come.