Rising and shining at the 2025 Breakfast of Champions

Amanda Lindhout never imagined that her journalism career would lead to her being kidnapped in Somalia in 2008. Or that one day she’d become a best-selling author and international icon for resilience in the face of trauma.

Taking the stage at St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation's 2025 Breakfast of Champions, she shared her candid history with a sold-out crowd of 1,100 at RBC Place London. By the end of her presentation, there were many tears in the audience – but also an overwhelming sense of hope.

“I’m sure all of you will go through challenging things in your life,” Lindhout said to the crowd. “You could be held hostage to anything, even your own mindset.”

She shared memories about her captivity and navigating post-traumatic stress disorder, along with the tools she used to find optimism even during her lowest moments. “I got to know despair very well, and the spirals that despair takes you down. But there was another voice, much quieter, that sounded like this too shall pass.”

“Always running quietly alongside despair, there was my resilience,” she shared. “I held the intention to feel happy again in my life and to feel whole. When you train yourself to look for whatever goodness there is, you start to see more of it.”

A morning to make a difference

For the past 18 years, Breakfast of Champions has shined a light on the importance of mental health care by sharing people’s stories and lived experiences. This annual event is a must-see for advocates and community members who are committed to raising awareness about mental illness and improving care in the region.

The proceeds raised through this year’s Breakfast will support mental health care at St. Joseph’s Health Care London. Guests were also invited to donate to the Patient Assistance Fund for Mental Health Care – a special fund introduced in 2024 that funds meaningful necessities for patients and residents, like grocery gift cards and bus tickets to get home after an appointment, that help them experience dignity and respect at every point of their care journey.

In collaboration with the Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services, the event also celebrated the 2025 Champions of Mental Health & Addiction Awards nominees and winners. This year’s winners were Michelle Boissonneault and St. Stephen’s House of London. The recipients inspired the crowd with their stories of experiencing homelessness and mental health challenges and finding new purpose in helping others.

Supporting people through trauma

St. Joseph’s plays a key role in providing specialized mental health care for people who have faced trauma, like Lindhout. The care team in the Regional Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Treatment Program offers trauma and violence-informed care to people of all ages to promote lasting healing. The Operational Stress Injury (OSI) Clinic provides specialized care to serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police who are experiencing mental health challenges as a result of their service.

Lindhout’s message to people who have experienced trauma echoed with the audience throughout the morning. “I am so glad that I didn’t give up,” she shared, looking back on the challenges she faced. “This joy that I feel now was always just up ahead. I just needed to hold on.”