Men who need help affording counselling can now access a fund created by this fall’s Ride Away Stigma mountain bike ride.
Participants raised just over $17,000 for the program that will help pay for up to six sessions with an accredited counsellor.
“Men generally aren’t very comfortable sharing their feelings as much as women do,” said Ross Taylor, who runs the Squamish Men’s Circle, a weekly opportunity for men to be supported by other men as they share their experiences.
“Often, there is a lot of stigma around being vulnerable and really sharing feelings, but men have a need and desire to do this just like women do.”
Counsellors in the program have lowered their session fees and the Ride Away Stigma Assistance Fund, administered by Sea to Sky Community Services, will pay $55, while clients pay $35.
Squamish resident Danielle Berman organized the Ride Away Stigma mountain bike ride in September. Around 120 riders, along with volunteers and spectators, gathered to raise money for mental health programs.
“It’s hard for men, but the strongest thing they can do is say ‘I need help’ and reach out. We need a shift in society,” said Berman, who lost her father to suicide in the summer of 1999 when she was entering Grade 8.
She didn’t know her dad was struggling until later when other people told her and, overwhelmed with emotions and using maladaptive coping mechanisms, she became depressed and distanced herself from others.
Fortunately, her mother noticed and intervened before she acted on any suicidal thoughts.
At the ride in Squamish, she noticed that many people had lost male family members and friends to suicide or knew a man struggling with mental health.
“We looked at the programs in the corridor and they are there for women and children, but I thought men need more assistance,” she said.
She plans to hold the fundraising ride again in the spring.
Men assessing the fund can choose which counsellor they feel best suite them with the assistance of Sea to Sky Community Services. The service is available for anyone 15 years and older.
Often men don’t have a safe place to share their feelings and are told to “man-up” or “be strong,” said Taylor.
“Men ask, ‘Where do I get to be vulnerable?’ They need a place.”
