By: Niveja Assalaarachchi, News Writer
This June, the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation announced Suspenders On, a social media challenge aimed at raising awareness for Men’s Mental Health Month. The challenge called on participants to don a pair of suspenders, post themselves online with a caption that includes the #SuspendersOn hashtag and a dedication to a man in their life, and donate to the Foundation. As of July 1, the organization raised $24,751 of their goal of $120,000 for the June-long campaign.
The Peak spoke to Kenton Boston, the foundation’s president and CEO, about the campaign’s goal and future initiatives that the organization wishes to take on.
The idea for the campaign came from a coworker’s memories of his grandfather. “He was a Scottish ship builder who lounged on the beach famously wearing suspenders to keep his pants up,” Boston said. The conversation for the campaign “evolved from there.” He shared, “We kind of went around this idea of, could suspenders be that visual cue [ . . . ] of supporting men, because it can support your pants,” he said. “That’s the essence of our campaign, [to say] that it’s OK to say you need support. It’s OK to say you’re not OK and that you need help — and that’s enormous for us.”
The Canadian Men’s Health Foundation was founded in 2014 and is a nationally registered charity organization. According to their official website, the charity’s aim is to provide “information, tools, and motivation to inspire men and their families to live healthier.” They provide services such as podcasts, online assessments — such as their men’s health checklist — and they produce research articles about health research. Boston noted that his organization’s focus is centered around inspiring and encouraging all people. “It’s not about isolating men or women, it’s about all communities coming together, because through that we know that families will thrive and people will thrive.”
Boston shared that the organization was founded by Dr. Larry Goldenberg, a urologist based in Vancouver, who indicated that “70% of the diseases that people get as you age are avoidable,” including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and low testosterone. He explained that the foundation began with the mission to teach people to eat healthier. “We’ve kind of grown to focus now on physical and mental health,” he shared.
Boston highlighted how systemic and social factors can influence men’s mental health. He noted that society’s values of toxic masculinity have conditioned men to be hesitant to ask for help and to admit failure. “That’s really what we’re out to make sure that people understand.
“You can be masculine. You can be courageous and tough, but you can also be caring and supportive, and you can cry, and you can talk about emotions, and that’s who we are as people”
— Kenton Boston, president and CEO of the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation
Men in Canada have faced increased mental health pressures. According to figures from the Government of Canada from 2012 to 2022, young men between 15 and 24 “who reported ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ mental health fell from 70% to 52%.” Meanwhile, the government source also highlighted how the demographic has reported an increase in mood disorders and generalized anxiety disorder in that same timeframe.
