Local OPP officer Jon Perrin has donated $2,500 to the Ross Memorial Hospital Foundation in Lindsay.
Perrin has become an advocate for mental health awareness since being diagnosed with post-traumantic stress disorder (PTSD).
“This gift does more than support mental health care at the Ross,” says Erin Coons, CEO of the Ross Memorial Hospital Foundation. “Through his efforts, Jon is enhancing care throughout the community, encouraging those in need to reach out, and focusing on his own mental health. We’re honoured to receive this donation and help Jon help so many others.”
Perrin, who was sexually assaulted at a young age and exposed to initiations and hazing while playing junior hockey, began working for the OPP in 2012. After responding to several traumatic events in his role as a police officer, he was diagnosed with PTSD in 2019.
To share his experiences, Perrin created a Facebook page in December 2020 called Living with a mental health illness, hosts a podcast called Twisted Trauma, and self published an e-book called Twisted Trauma: Poems by a Police Officer struggling with PTSD — using the book as a fundraiser for mental health.
In April, Perrin donated a $2,500 gift from real estate developer Flato Developments to the Canadian Mental Health Association, Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge Branch.
Perrin intends to support local mental health care with donations to community organizations including the Ross Memorial Hospital Mental Health program.
