Victoria, British Columbia
Ms. Dana Batho has been an essential contributor to the day-to-day operation of the group “Send Up the Count,” a grassroots online community established on the Facebook social media platform in December 2013. Since that time, it has grown to over 10,000 members, nearly exclusively Veterans or serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, as well as some emergency first responders. Administering a group of this size is complicated. Ms. Batho has taken the lead in vetting each person applying to join the group to ensure that they have ties to the Canadian military community and are appropriate for inclusion. Her efforts have been key to building a community where Veterans can talk about their military and health experiences in a supportive environment. Ms. Batho has helped to moderate this online community, often drawing on her own experiences as a medically released Veteran.
For the past number of years, she has made herself available to assist in crises, perform group administration, and help moderate the online peer support community—at any hour of the day. This has allowed the group to be a safe place for ill and injured Veterans to gather, which has mitigated many crises and prevented others. “Send Up the Count” is mainly focused on suicide prevention and mental health within the Canadian Military and Veteran community. This achievement is in no small part due to Ms. Batho’s dedicated behind-the-scenes efforts to keep things running smoothly. Her selfless service, without compensation or recognition, has helped ensure the well-being of countless Canadian Veterans.