Nicola Family Therapy will offer additional support to men in the community seeking help with their mental health, thanks to a plethora of recent donations received from multiple community members and organizations.
With over $40,000 raised towards their free men’s mental health initiative from local athlete Darius Sam’s 100km ultramarathon awareness run and a donation from the Nicola Valley Health Care Auxiliary, Nicola Family Therapy looks to fill a gap in service they have identified.
The Nicola Valley Hospital Auxillary Board and Darius Sam both donated to the NV Family Therapy, the sum received will be used for men’s mental health services. Photo/Herald File photo
“I’ve been in the anti-violence sector for 23 years, and we have support for women and children, but we don’t have support for men,” said Sheri Bishop, executive director for Nicola Family Therapy.
According to the Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, mental health concerns in men often go unnoticed and undiagnosed due to stigma around outdated perceptions of masculinity. Over 75% of suicides in Canada involve men, and men are more likey to struggle with substance abuse issues.
“We know that everyone is vulnerable to trauma, and unresolved trauma work can lead to ongoing challenges in our lives as we try to grow, have families, and deal with everyday life stressors,” added Bishop.
The organization says that it’s focused on providing service to all members of the community, looking to eliminate as many barriers to accessing mental health support as possible along the way. These barriers can often be more prominent for men seeking support.
“We found that there was a gap in funding that we think is society wide, and we really want to be able to service all the members of our community in the most feasible, accessible, and affordable way.”
“If we can offer counselling at no cost, that is for us the ideal option so that we’re eliminating the barriers for people to come through our doors.”
According to Bishop, these barriers can range in nature widely and include financial, trauma, and scheduling issues, but aren’t limited to these and vary based on personal circumstances and experiences.
These barriers may seem more rigid for Merrittonians as they continue to recover from past years of fire, flooding, and an ongoing global pandemic.
Nicola Family Therapy hopes to continue to break them down, and has been hard at work doing so. While it can’t be attributed to one thing specifically, Bishop says her organization has seen an increase in requests for service.
“With the pandemic, fires, and floods, I’d like to safely say that our community has been significantly stressed and increasingly stressed over the last few years, so we are seeing more people asking for services.”
While recent donations are keeping the free men’s mental health supports afloat, Nicola Family Therapy hopes to continue to fundraise and keep programs like these free.
Moving forward, they plan to engage community organizations for funding opportunities, seek sponsorships, and hope to gather community donations. The organization also accepts donations of empty bottles at the Return-It depot on Clapperton Avenue.
Nicola Family Therapy invites anyone seeking support, or looking to donate to the initiative, to reach out to them. Those interested should call 250-378-9222, go online to nicolafamilytherapy.ca, or visit in person at 2185A Voght St.
