After dealing with his own personal battle with depression, Jason Balgopal (JD, LLB ’97) saw the importance of a support group to help combat a challenge that many deal with in isolation. To address this crucial need, Jason started the Mental Wellness Peer Support Group, a weekly peer-to-peer support group for those who face similar mental health challenges. Through this group, Jason is inspired to give those who may feel hopeless, a voice to empower themselves.
“I was fortunate enough to get a lot of help; a lot of people aren’t able to get help,” says Jason. “Help came through what I call a ‘web of support’. It’s not just one thread that supports you during a particular time, or even through an entire cycle of mental wellness challenges. That web includes my family, spouse, family doctor, psychiatrist and a therapist.”
Though he received the help he needed through his web of support, Jason also felt as though he was missing one important element of support: speaking to others who were feeling what he was feeling.
“One thing I was missing was the support of peers,” says Jason. “I would talk to my wife, who was great, but she didn’t have the lived experience. At times she didn’t know what to say or how to solve the problem and it became draining on her. I trusted my psychiatrist who knew the science but didn’t have the lived experience to know what it felt like.”
In 2015, Jason wanted to make a difference for those who were struggling with their mental health. He placed an advertisement in a community newspaper about a peer support group at the local community centre. What initially started as a monthly in-person meeting quickly turned into a weekly meeting due to popular demand and has since extended virtually, inviting people from across the globe to participate online. Jason hopes that those who attend the group can gain something positive simply by attending.
“You are not alone, there are people available to help you, and there is hope.”
Jason Balgopal (JD, LLB ’97)
“Getting things off your chest and being able to say it out loud is really empowering,” says Jason. “Everybody has an opportunity to get feedback. Feedback can be empathy or it can be a technique that worked for someone that may work for someone else.”
Members who have attended these sessions cite the anonymity and the lack of judgment they experience as reasons they return to group meetings.
“The people who attend regularly like the fact that we are a community, but they also say ‘I don’t have to worry about encountering any of these people at the local store,’” says Jason. “They’ve told me that they like that the sessions run consistently at one hour every week without going over time and that everyone is treated equally.”
While thousands of people have benefited from attending these meetings, many still suffer from mental health challenges in silence. To those people, Jason leaves a message that he hopes can encourage them to speak to someone about their mental health.
“You are not alone,” says Jason. “There are people available to help you, and there is hope.”