Colour Me Worthy starts support group

Colour Me Worthy is a local non-profit organization created by Jen Frizell with the purpose of supporting those who are suffering from mental health and addiction and/or homelessness. Recently, she started having Peer Support Group (PGS) meetings at the Whitecourt Family Worship Centre uptown by Tim Hortons. The meetings take place every two weeks on Tuesdays from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m. and the next meeting is planned for August 21. Upon entering the church lobby, follow the long hallway on the left to the last room on the right.

Frizell said the reason she started the meetings was because there isn’t a lot of support locally for loved ones of those navigating mental health and addiction. “There are Al-Anon meetings, though not so much in Whitecourt, but I find there is a lack of that type of support here so that’s why I decided to create them here.”

She said support is slowly growing and that she knew it would take time for people to come out of their shells and feel comfortable sharing their personal stories and struggles with others. “We’ve had a handful of people show up to most of the meetings and, hopefully, that’s just going to grow from there. I plan on continuing to hold the meetings whether people are there are not because I know that everybody’s ready at different times.”

As the parent of someone who struggles with mental health and addiction, Jen wants to help others who are in the same position and give them what she didn’t have: support. “Everybody’s family is different. Some families are going to be full on board and support each other through it all. There are also families like mine who weren’t there and weren’t supportive. They might say they are here for you or inquire on how things are, but they never actually show that support.”

She said she hopes to provide that family support, so people have a place to go where they know everyone there understands what they are going through. “Knowing they aren’t alone and that the support exists is important. I want them to know their frustrations are heard and that we can talk together and express our hurt, our hopelessness, or our feelings of being lost and not knowing what to do or how to handle different situations,” said Frizell.

“I think meetings like this can give them hope. I did use the word hopelessness before and I don’t use that word very much because to me there’s always hope but it can feel that way sometimes. Strength is big when you are the loved one of someone going through this because it’s that much harder to watch people go through this. We can help provide that strength.”

She plans on having guest speakers once a month and hopes to bring in people such as a police officer, psychologist, and a mental health worker. As new topics pop up in meetings she wants to be able to bring in someone who can talk further about it. “My biggest one right now is getting someone in on addiction and a little bit on the chemical reactions of addiction. One of the biggest stigmas I come across is that it’s a choice. For some people it is a choice and for some it’s the second or third time they choose to pick it up, but 99 per cent of the time it stops being a choice because of the effect that the drugs have on the mind,” explained Frizell.

At some point they hope to start support groups but are needing the right person to spearhead it. “I would do it myself, but I feel like it would be better to have somebody who’s fully in recovery to spearhead those meetings. We need to find that person before we can do that.” For more information visit www.colourmeworthy.com or search the group on Facebook to stay up-to-date on meetings and events.