Earlier this year, the Simple Plan fans have first learned the reasoning behind the band’s bassist’s absence on previous tours and his continuous absence since May of this year – David Desrosiers publicly opened up about his struggles with depression, a very serious mental illness he’s been fighting for many years now. In order to focus on his own mental health and getting better, David has not appeared on stage with Simple Plan ever since their first U.S. tour this year (April 2017).
Over the course of this year, the band has fully supported their friend David in his decision to not join the band on tour but instead stay at home and work on getting better. With David’s blessing, the band continued to tour for the rest of the year, always making sure to mention David at every show and to assure their fans that he’s still very much part of the band.
David’s health problems have obviously had a great impact on the band and not just from the touring point of view, but also when it comes to realizing the importance of mental health. That is why the band has decided to make this issue a priority also in their charitable efforts – in David’s honor.
According to the latest article on HollywoodPQ, Simple Plan Foundation announced this year’s donations to various charities – with the main focus being put on organizations helping patients with mental health issues.
This year, Simple Plan Foundation is distributing $200 000 in total to 25 different organizations. The Foundation has previously already supported organizations specializing in child psychiatry and youth suicide prevention by donating to the Sainte-Justine Children’s Hospital in Montreal and the Mental Illness Foundation. This year however, the members of the band wanted to add two more organizations – in particular the two largest organizations working with mental health in the Montreal area – Montreal’s Institute of Mental Health (l’Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale) and the Douglas Institute (l’Institut Douglas).
We’re sure David is very proud and so are we to see the band shift their focus on such an important issue that has affected not just their bassist, but many of their fans as well.
Check out more information on how Simple Plan Foundation works here.
