Last year, Andrea Hawiuk saw a gap when it came to talking about mental health issues. So she got a conversation going.
And last weekend, people flocked to the Pomeroy Inn & Suites, filling up the parking lot and packing the conference room for a second year, to keep that conversation going.
The conference on suicide and depression, dubbed The Conversation has to Happen...Again wasn't intended to be an annual event.
"I just wanted to do it one time," said Hawiuk.
But after close to 300 people showed up last year, she decided right then and there, that she'd make it happen again.
"I think it has to be there for people, I think they need a place to say, ëI had suicide in my family, and you had suicide in your family. And I am talking to you, and you are listening to me, and seeing the hurt in me,'" she said.
Hawiuk tells story after story about the people who showed up last year, people who thanked her for making it happen, and people who are alive because of it.
"They so needed it. One person, I know, in my review, said ëYou've saved my life today.' In big letters," said Hawiuk.
Another lady came up to her in a coffee shop, to say how she had tried to access mental health services more than once, and came away empty-handed.
"She said, ëI went there for that day and it's like a whole new life opened up for me,'" said Hawiuk.
Jennifer Thomson was yet another one of those attendees last year, who turned over a new leaf after that day.
"Being someone who suffers from depression, I was very drawn to come that day," she said. "It took a lot of courage, to step up and say, I don't have to hide anymore."
"And so I came, and it was a wonderful day," she said. "The speakers were so powerful, and the stories that people were telling were so relatable. So I didn't feel alone."
For her, last year's conference was a turning point.
"I just said to my husband, 'I have to start doing something to help people realize we need to end this stigma against mental illness,'" said Thomson.
And she has done something. Thomson came to the conference again, but this year she stepped up to the podium to announce that she is starting a depression support group.
"You know, you suffer in silence, and you are scared that people around you are going to know, and you really try to hide it," said Thomson.
But between sitting in her seat at last year's conference, and working with her psychologist, Thomson says she's come out of hiding.
"I feel so empowered now," she said. "I feel like I am on my road to recovery and I feel like I want to help others realize you don't have to fight alone."
The new group ñ which will be facilitated by both Thomson and a professional counsellor ñ starts meeting at 7 p.m. on Sep. 25 at Everything Olds, and will continue to meet on the third Monday of each month. It is free of charge and open to anyone, with no pressure to talk or participate.
"Somebody knows somebody who is suffering," said Thomson. "It's really important that the momentum keep going and that we raise awareness that there's nothing to be ashamed of."
"I just hope that people will come out and support each other, and really find that strength and courage to seek help and support."
That kind of support, of not facing hardships alone, and of connecting with others was a central theme of this year's conference.
"When we want to talk about the difference between why we are struggling so significantly with mental health right now, it's because of disconnect," said Jody Carrington, a local psychologist, who was the keynote speaker for the second year.
"How we answer these question of 'am I worthy?' that they're all talking about today, is based solely on connection," said Carrington. "How many people look at us, and light up, how may people remind us that we matter?"
"We've got to connect like crazy."
Carrington said if there's any change that has come from last year's conference, it's that people are more connected.
"When we create a day like this, where all different shapes and sizes and ages can come together and talk about some really hard things, that's how we change communities," she said.
"What is remarkable to me is that this wasn't organized by anybody who has money or an education," said Carrington. "It's by a grandma, who decided that people needed to connect."
"In this little town we've managed to do that," she said. "And I think that's friggin' remarkable."
"I feel so empowered now," she said. "I feel like I am on my road to recovery and I feel like I want to help others realize you don't have to fight alone."JENNIFER THOMSON
