In honour of International Women’s Day, we’re recognizing Rabiah Dhaliwal as the newest recipient of Canada’s Walk of Fame Community Hero.
Rabiah Dhaliwal is on a mission to change the stigma of mental health. This inspiring woman from Surrey, B.C., is a 22-year-old medical school hopeful, an award-winning mental health activist, a humanitarian, and a suicide survivor, who continues to overcome adversity experienced in her teens.
At the age of 15, without any safe or positive resources available to share what she was going through, Dhaliwal struggled with mental health and spent two months in an adolescent psychiatric ward. It was there she received helpful coping tools and committed to lending her voice to champion awareness and education about mental health inequities, suicide prevention, and disability justice.
Inspiring work life
Today, Dhaliwal is the founder and director of Voices for Hope Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to challenge the stigma of mental health through educational initiatives. She recently called for a Mental Health Parity Act while speaking at Canada’s House of Commons, and has created ‘sensory hubs’ – spaces in schools where neurodiverse students can decompress.
The former vice president of the One Blood for Life Foundation, Dhaliwal recruited over 1,400 stem cell registrants and more than 3,000 blood donors. Her aim was to educate people from various ethnic backgrounds of the importance of representation on the stem cell registry and bone marrow network. The result was to better reflect the diversity of patients hoping to find a life-saving stem cell match.
Recognition beyond borders
The innovation, courage, and collaboration of this remarkable young woman reaches far beyond community and country. With Prince William honouring the legacy of his late mother each year, he selected Rabiah Dhaliwal as the Canadian recipient of the 2021 Diana Award. The award represents exceptional youth from around the world who continue to inspire and mobilize new generations to create long lasting change globally while serving their communities.
Acknowledgements
Canada’s Walk of Fame is presented by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) and Scotiabank.
