May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and a special group in Kindersley led by local man Ian McKenzie has come out of the woodwork to hopefully keep these important discussions continuing year-round.
The K-Rock Wellness and Support Group is hosting their second meeting on Wednesday, May 21 from the Legion Hall in Kindersley. The group is meeting weekly from 7-9 PM, as McKenzie shared some insight into what the night's discussion consists of.
"It's a support group for people who are dealing with mental health, and addiction issues. It's a group atmosphere." started McKenzie as the Legion has opened up the hall for weekly sessions.
"We have a couple different topics for the meeting, and then pull off people's experiences, and how they are able to deal with things. Then as a group we talk about it, try to work through it."
McKenzie wants to promote the idea of "group healing" with the K-Rock setup. A discussion is sometimes all that's needed to get the ball rolling on the road to recovery.
"It helps people open up, when they hear other people open up. It's a very safe environment, everything said there is very confidential. It's just so people can feel comfortable, and not just have someone to talk to, but work with a group of people." said McKenzie, as hearing other people's experiences, could help someone open up themselves. "Maybe try to shake some of the demons."
The first group day was fantastic according to McKenzie as nine people were in attendance for the inaugural night of discussion.
"I was very proud of the group... Everybody opened up and was very respectful of one another. We had a really good chat, and the comments were that people couldn't believe two hours went by so fast." he said. "The excitement was there, for sure."
Now McKenzie hopes last week's momentum can push the attendance to double digits with a few more people announcing their intentions to come out. As they build their attendance base, McKenzie and the rest of the group are looking into how they can improve the experience even more.
"Sometime throughout the year we will be bringing in speakers, talked to the group about that, and they would definitely like to hear people who speak on certain subjects. Speak to us as a group and build on it from there."
McKenzie wants the support group to be an easy-going place people can comfortably share their thoughts. He wants it to be a well-rounded night where everyone is welcome, any time of year.
"People can come on out, see what it's all about. Have a coffee and a cookie, some peaceful relaxation time and just enjoy."