By Jack Brittle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Joseph Brant Hospital’s Mental Health and Addictions (MHA) ward was first built in 1961 and has not received a major upgrade since.
Until now.
As community fundraising builds ahead of this fall’s Walk to the Lighthouse in Burlington, a long-awaited redevelopment is beginning to take shape through the hospital’s For All Minds campaign.
Launched in 2024 by the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation (JBHF), the campaign aims to raise $20 million to renovate and modernize the MHA facilities.
Ashley Davidson, president and CEO of JBHF, elaborated on the history of the ward.
“Back when they built mental health units, things were very institutional in nature,” Davidson said. “Just colder. The rooms were shared, ward-type rooms. And so our facility, unfortunately, hasn’t seen any change since that time, so we’re well overdue in terms of a redevelopment project for the hospital, and we’re really excited now that it’s underway.”
The inpatient unit will be moved from the first floor of the north tower, in an older section of the building, to the third floor, in space that is currently vacant.
“That means that we can now build modern, bright, therapeutic, person-centred care spaces for our community,” Davidson said. “That provides a much better environment in which our patients can continue on their healing journey.”
One of the key community groups supporting the For All Minds campaign is Walk to the Lighthouse (WTTL), which is now preparing for its sixth annual walk this September.
WTTL organizes an annual fundraising and awareness walk in support of the campaign, with this year’s event scheduled for September 27, 2026.
Melanie Walker, co-chair of WTTL and intake coordinator for Community Mental Health at Joseph Brant Hospital, spoke about the group.
“It’s a grassroots organization,” Walker said. “Everybody on that committee has some type of experience with mental health, be it personally or professionally.”
Walker explained the significance of the lighthouse in the walk.
“The lighthouse is symbolic,” Walker said. “It represents that there’s light in the storm a person’s in. When I joined the committee about four years ago, two of the members explained to me that when they were on the inpatient unit years ago, they would be encouraged to go for walks towards the lighthouse. And that symbol of the lighthouse became that symbol of hope that there was light in the storm that they were in.”
This year, WTTL held a pop-up art exhibit at the Community Hub in Burlington Centre mall, which was filled with contributions from members of their committee and patients at the MHA ward.
The exhibit was organized by their student committee, who reached out to fellow classmates as well as representatives from other schools to see if they would contribute.
Walker said that the reception of the exhibit has been positive.
“We’ve had very meaningful conversations with people,” Walker said. “People have been quite touched by some of the art that they have seen.”
Members of the JBH Youth Early Intervention program contributed to the exhibition as well.
“They’re pretty pleased to see their work displayed,” Walker said. “That’s actually a lot of what we’re getting back from some of the people who have contributed work. They never thought their art would be looked at or displayed. So it’s been very meaningful for people.”
Davidson said that the WTTL not only raises money for the hospital but also creates awareness about mental health.
“Their participation and enthusiasm signal to our community and to those facing mental health issues in our community that the support of our community is there,” Davidson said. “People hear, people see, people care, and we want to do better. We want to come together as a community to ensure that we’re putting that kind of full spectrum of support around our patients.”
For All Minds is approximately 75% of the way towards its goal of $20 million. Last year’s WTTL raised $100,000 for the campaign.
Walker spoke about her goal with the walk.
“Our vision is to have a day where everybody’s in one place, you can talk to people and learn about services, and learn that there is help available if you need it,” Walker said.
Burlington MPP Natalie Pierre announced upgrades to the MHA ward at Capillary Wave’s Pier to Peer earlier this month.
“The new unit will come online next year,” Pierre said. “There will also be a brand-new outpatient mental health unit. And we’re also building the first Child and Youth Mental Health Day-Hospital in Burlington as well.”
To learn more about the For All Minds campaign, click here. For Walk to the Lighthouse, click here.
