It is like entering someone’s apartment. You gain an immediate sense of mood and personality from pastel colours and wall decorations. The rooms may have been refurbished recently, but they exude a lived-in, homely quality that invites you to stay.
A corner of the living room contains couches, a 52-inch television, and a big collection of DVDs, some movies, some educational. Another corner has become a library with seats and shelves full of self-help books.
There is also a well-stocked kitchen, large enough for a chef and small catering team, crafts room and an area with a table bearing brochures and newsletters about mental illness, one of the few clues about where you are.
Off the living room is an office. It belongs to Joyce Sheren, the woman who conceived the idea of The Ripple Connection Support Centre, described as a place where people can connect with family and friends of those living with mental illness.
It comes as no surprise that Sheren sees the Barrhead centre as a family home, not just for those with mental illness, but also for caregivers. She doesn’t talk of clients or customers, preferring words like people, individuals, friends and family members.
“We are a family here,” she says. “We are all about making positive changes in lives. It is a huge help for people who have gone through a similar experience to get together and socialize. They know they will find understanding here.”
Sheren’s family is now 40-strong, with members from as far afield as Fort Assiniboine, Westlock and Jarvie.
“We had six new faces on Monday, six on Tuesday checking us out,” she says. “We have doubled our members since November. Friends and other organizations refer people to us.”
One family member is Sue B., who is often to be seen helping in the kitchen.
“I like people and this is a fun place,” she says. “It is somewhere I can go and be accepted.”
Sheren’s philosophy is simple: mental illness may seem like an unhappy subject in a world that struggles to understand it, but that doesn’t mean those whose lives are touched by it need to be unhappy.
Just the opposite. Sheren wants anyone who crosses the Ripple Connection threshold to be uplifted.
Everywhere you look are inspirational sayings: All things grow with love; Scatter seeds of kindness and find peace; Live well, laugh often, love much; We may not have it all together, but together we have it all! Imagine, Believe …
There is also plenty of humour. The coffee mug on Sheren’s desk bears the message “Behind any woman is a substantial amount of chocolate.”
It is clear this is a place founded on the belief that hope can bloom in even the most shaded soil.
“We have seen huge changes in individuals as they get a sense of belonging from being here,” says Sheren, who is the centre’s executive director, although she balks at such a corporate-sounding title.
“They get to socialize, hang out with other people. Coping with mental illness can be isolating for caregivers and those they care for. We focus on the positive and moving forward,” she said.
The Ripple Connection began in 2010 as a mental illness caregivers support group, meeting at the Addiction Services boardroom.
Sheren had been inspired by the book Create A Ripple, co-authored by Bev Hoffman and Laurel Vespi. She liked the image of a ripple travelling in concentric circles of ever-increasing radius, likening it to the service the group provided.
In October 2011, a Fleetwood Mac/ABBA tribute band concert fundraiser proved so successful it encouraged the group to expand its horizons and extend its reach into a community that appeared in desperate need of its services.
Last December, the non-profit group moved to a building just off Main Street, behind Flower Lane, where it is open weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sheren, assistant director Darcy Lockhart and other volunteers spent a hectic November repainting walls, stripping floors, waxing and cleaning.
The result is a facility where Ripple members can find sanctuary in their stressful lives. They can enjoy a daily hot lunch, make crafts, watch movies and DVDs on dealing with anxiety, and attend workshops.
Specialist help is available: a grief loss expert has started coming, offering advice on coping with such traumas as unemployment, marital breakdown, financial setbacks, and the death of a loved one. Vespi, a life coach, will be visiting in May.
Although medical help is not provided, efforts are made to ensure members take prescribed medication and attend doctor appointments.
Ripple members also go on outings – recently they went to the Titanic exhibition in Edmonton – and there are plans to start exercise classes and a community garden east of Barrhead.
“It will be somewhere to grow potatoes, root vegetables, turnips and beets,” says Lockhart. “Gardening is very therapeutic.”
Financing is a constant challenge for the group, which registered as a society in January and relies on fundraising and personal donations. Voting membership costs $2.
“We have had many, many wonderful people make donations and provide us with food and other items,” says Sheren. “Recently the Rotary made a donation, offering to pay one month of expenses.”
On May 5 a “Rock This Country” fundraiser will be held at Barrhead Elementary School gym. There will be two shows, cocktails, a buffet and prizes. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $40.
It is hoped people will come out to support a group that provides a much-needed service in the community.
“People don’t have to suffer quietly any more,” says Sheren. “This is where they can get the help they need.”
