Newsletter for June 2025
A new start for the Network
Welcome to our first brand-new online newsletter!
Welcome to our first brand-new online newsletter!
Some may recognize that we’ve released newsletters in the past, but our output slowed in recent years as the Network underwent internal restructuring and a re-examination of our mission.
🧭 Who Are We?
There are sure to be new faces to the Network, so here’s a refresher:
NNMH is a non-profit organization uniquely seated at the intersection of mental health and disabilities. We are directed and operated by people with lived experience of disabilities and mental health issues.
We prioritize the realities facing:
- Black, Indigenous, Muslim, and People of Color (BIMPOC)
- The LGBTQIA2S+ community
- Disenfranchised peoples
- Racialized and marginalized communities
- Newcomers
- And all peoples seeking inclusion while living with disabilities
Our mission is to promote social inclusion and community involvement for all persons with disabilities
🔄 NNMH? NIMHN?
If you’ve followed us for years, you might remember us as NIMHN (National Mental Health Inclusion Network). As part of our 2025 restructuring, we’ve officially transitioned back to our longstanding historical name, NNMH (National Network for Mental Health), to honor the Network’s rich history and decades of work. While the word “inclusion” is no longer in our name, it remains a core value embedded in our mission. Our commitment to inclusive practices and to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities continues to guide everything we do.
🧑💼 Call for Board Members
NNMH is passionately dedicated to advancing disability advocacy and mental health support. True progress begins with the voices of those who’ve experienced these challenges firsthand.
We’re seeking new board members with insight into mental health and disability to shape our mission with authenticity, insight, and compassion.
Your voice, your perspective, and your leadership are powerful tools for building a more inclusive, understanding community.
📝 Application Instructions:
- Scan the QR code or download the application from our website.
- Submit your responses via email to info@nnmh.ca with the subject line:
“Board Membership Application Submission” - Need accommodations? Contact us and we’ll do our best to assist.
🏳️🌈 Reflecting on Pride Month: A Call to Continue the Work
By: Justin Patak
As June comes to a close, we take a moment to reflect on Pride Month, a time to honour the resilience, joy, and achievements of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. While the parades may wind down, the spirit of Pride must carry forward in our actions, our advocacy, and our everyday lives.
For many of us, Pride is deeply personal. Living at the intersection of queerness, disability, and mental health, I know firsthand that our challenges are not rooted in who we are—but in the systems that have long denied us dignity, access, and safety.
This month, we’ve seen troubling developments:
In the U.S., anti-trans policies continue to gain ground. In Canada, Alberta has introduced legislation that restricts gender-affirming care and stifles conversations about gender identity in schools. These laws don’t just limit rights—they send a dangerous message to young trans people: that their identities are something to fear, not celebrate.
As Pride Month ends, our responsibility does not. Now is the time to recommit.
Here are a few ways you can continue to stand in solidarity:
- Support 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and mutual aid efforts
- Speak out against harmful legislation and misinformation
- Let the queer and trans people in your life know they are seen, valued, and loved
Let Pride be more than a moment. Let it be a movement—toward justice, inclusion, and collective care.
“With Pride, We Rise”
We come from paths both bright and rough,
Where love was tested, never enough.
But still we shine, still we belong,
In every heart, a different song.
We carry truths the world once feared,
With voices clear, with vision steered.
Disabled, queer, and full of grace,
We carve our space, we claim our place.
This month we march, we speak, we show
That pride is more than just a glow.
It’s every fight we’ve had to face—
And every step toward safer space.
📬 Stay Connected
- 📧 Email: info@nnmh.ca
- 🧵 X: @nnmhrnsm
- 📸 Instagram: @nnmhrnsm
- 💼 LinkedIn: @nnmhrnsm
- 🌐 Bluesky: @nnmhrnsm
Newsletter Editor: Justin Patak
Communications Coordinator at NNMH
📧 communicationscoord@nnmh.ca