Mental Health Champion Senator Denise Batters: Finding hope in tragedy
The press release was short, but very heartfelt.
“I have been ill for the past few months, dealing with anxiety and depression,” Dave Batters, the popular and well-respected Member of Parliament from the Saskatchewan riding of Palliser, wrote in 2008.
“I make this very personal disclosure in the hope that others who suffer from these conditions will seek the assistance they need.”
Senator Denise Batters remembers her husband’s courageous decision to disclose his private struggle.
“He thought that his constituents deserved to know what was going on with him because people had been really worried about him,” Senator Batters recalled. “He wrote his own press release. And it was very poignant.”
The response was swift.
“It was an incredible reaction across the country,” Senator Batters indicated. “It was very, very, very supportive.”
Dave Batters died by suicide on June 29, 2009, but his fight against the stigma of mental illness has been taken up by Senator Batters, their friends and family, and by others across the country inspired by his bravery.
“He could have simply written a press release indicating that he was leaving politics and not disclose the reason why,” Senator Batters said.
“But he thought that it would actually help someone if he talked about it.”
Last year, the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health recognized Senator Batters’ mental health advocacy by naming her the Champion of Mental Health Parliamentarian.
As always, her husband was not far from her thoughts.
“I said in my speech that night … I was sharing that award with Dave,” the Senator said. “He was the one that started it all when he was open about the fact that he had to retire from politics because of what he was suffering with.”
The Dave Batters Memorial Golf Tournament, an annual event in Regina, Saskatchewan, continues to raise money to fund the broadcast of this TV commercial that aims to raise awareness and dispel stigma about mental illness and suicide for the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Senator Batters, meanwhile, has recently focused on the debate surrounding physician-assisted suicide legislation. In March, she wrote a passionate opinion piece against offering death to those who struggle with mental illness.
“These people need help,” she said. “They don’t need that option, the devastatingly final choice of suicide.”
Many powerful allies have emerged in her quest to improve the lot of Canadians who are mentally ill.
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke movingly at Dave Batters’ funeral; the Senator has also collaborated with Olympic champion Clara Hughes and sports personality Michael Landsberg to foster compassion and understanding of mental illness.
“My husband was the atypical person who you would think would suffer from this type of illness, which is why I think his story is so powerful,” Senator Batters said. “It’s not a personality issue; it’s an illness and no different than cancer or heart disease.”
“And it needs to be treated.”
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Mental Health Champion Senator Denise Batters: Finding hope in tragedy
The press release was short, but very heartfelt.
“I have been ill for the past few months, dealing with anxiety and depression,” Dave Batters, the popular and well-respected Member of Parliament from the Saskatchewan riding of Palliser, wrote in 2008.
“I make this very personal disclosure in the hope that others who suffer from these conditions will seek the assistance they need.”
Senator Denise Batters remembers her husband’s courageous decision to disclose his private struggle.
“He thought that his constituents deserved to know what was going on with him because people had been really worried about him,” Senator Batters recalled. “He wrote his own press release. And it was very poignant.”
The response was swift.
“It was an incredible reaction across the country,” Senator Batters indicated. “It was very, very, very supportive.”
Dave Batters died by suicide on June 29, 2009, but his fight against the stigma of mental illness has been taken up by Senator Batters, their friends and family, and by others across the country inspired by his bravery.
“He could have simply written a press release indicating that he was leaving politics and not disclose the reason why,” Senator Batters said.
“But he thought that it would actually help someone if he talked about it.”
Last year, the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health recognized Senator Batters’ mental health advocacy by naming her the Champion of Mental Health Parliamentarian.
As always, her husband was not far from her thoughts.
“I said in my speech that night … I was sharing that award with Dave,” the Senator said. “He was the one that started it all when he was open about the fact that he had to retire from politics because of what he was suffering with.”
The Dave Batters Memorial Golf Tournament, an annual event in Regina, Saskatchewan, continues to raise money to fund the broadcast of this TV commercial that aims to raise awareness and dispel stigma about mental illness and suicide for the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Senator Batters, meanwhile, has recently focused on the debate surrounding physician-assisted suicide legislation. In March, she wrote a passionate opinion piece against offering death to those who struggle with mental illness.
“These people need help,” she said. “They don’t need that option, the devastatingly final choice of suicide.”
Many powerful allies have emerged in her quest to improve the lot of Canadians who are mentally ill.
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke movingly at Dave Batters’ funeral; the Senator has also collaborated with Olympic champion Clara Hughes and sports personality Michael Landsberg to foster compassion and understanding of mental illness.
“My husband was the atypical person who you would think would suffer from this type of illness, which is why I think his story is so powerful,” Senator Batters said. “It’s not a personality issue; it’s an illness and no different than cancer or heart disease.”
“And it needs to be treated.”