This holiday season, I find myself reflecting on the meaning of home. For some, it’s a warm kitchen filled with the scent of food and sounds of laughter.
For others, it’s quiet companionship or a sense of belonging that doesn’t depend on biology or bricks.
At its heart, home is about sanctuary. Safety. Being seen and heard.
For Naomi, that sense of home didn’t come easily.
She spent years trying to prove she was “okay” – to herself, her family, and a world that kept telling her to just push through. Living with mental illness meant constantly relearning who she was, not who others expected her to be. She had to break through years of being told to work harder, stay silent and “suck it up.”
Naomi moved to Saskatoon in 2017, anxious and alone. She didn’t yet have a diagnosis and wasn’t sure where she belonged or how to get the help she needed. It took time, but when she found CMHA Saskatoon the right doors began to open.
“It’s not family, but it’s friendly. I can joke around.
That type of environment is rare. There’s no toxicity, no feeling like
anyone is talking about you. That’s what CMHA is.”
Naomi’s story isn’t rare, it’s real. In fact, 1 in 3 Canadians will be affected by a mental illness in their lifetime.
That’s nearly half of us, trying to navigate an underfunded system, especially during the holidays.
Thanks to people like you, Naomi has grown at her own pace without having to justify her pain or live up to someone else’s expectations. When you support CMHA, you’re not just funding services. You’re giving people the space to heal with dignity, patience and genuine support.
Will you make a gift today to help someone like Naomi find a second place to call home? Give now at cmhasaskatoon.ca/donate
Healing isn’t a straight line. Naomi has had to unlearn old pressures and rediscover who she truly is beyond her illness, her job and the doubts that have followed her for years.
With your help, she began attending support groups, volunteering, writing and sharing her story to reduce stigma. She earned her Safe Talk certification. She now lives independently, writes, gives presentations and helps others find their footing too.
“CMHA was a cornerstone to building the life I wanted.”
Every time Naomi shares her journey, she’s offering someone else a lifeline. And every time you give, you’re making that moment of connection possible.
Your donation creates real, lasting change.
You make pre-vocational programs, peer support, housing advocacy and mental health education possible, delivered with compassion, at the pace people need.
That’s what home for the holidays looks like when you give:
A safe space to be vulnerable
A community that believes in you
A place where healing is possible
Right now, many in our community are struggling with inflation, isolation and mental health challenges that feel heavier during the holidays. The need is real, and it’s growing.
But when you give, you do something powerful:
You remind someone they’re not alone. You turn fear into relief and isolation into connection.
You can be the reason someone like Naomi and the 1 in 3 who walk similar paths finds sanctuary. Not just for this season, but for the future.
You’ve already helped build something rare: a place that’s not perfect, but profoundly human. Please help again, your compassion changes lives.