mad pride is a mass movement of the users of mental health services, former users, and the aligned, and that individuals with mental illness should be proud of their 'mad' identity. it was formed in 1993 in response to local community prejudices towards people with a psychiatric history living in boarding homes in the parkdale area of toronto, ontario, canada, and an event has been held every year since then in the city except for 1996. a similar movement began around the same time in the united kingdom. by the late 1990s similar events were being organized under the mad pride name around the globe, including australia, ireland, portugal, brazil, madagascar, south africa and the united states. events draw thousands of participants, according to mindfreedom international, a united states mental health advocacy organization that promotes and tracks events spawned by the movement.