Okanagan tech company helping men manage mental health

When she first started looking into what mental health resources were available for men a few years ago, Candace Chisholm was not prepared for what she found.

Chisholm is co-founder of Okanagan tech company . She launched the company with her husband after working for a non-profit, with services primarily for women and children, but often getting calls from men inquiring about mental health resources.

Now, the company has developed the he app for men鈥檚 mental health and wellness.

鈥淚 always had a place for women to go, but for men, everything out there was really reactionary,鈥� said Chisholm. 鈥淵ou had to be addicted or going through some kind of anger management. There wasn鈥檛 really anything with a proactive approach.鈥�

After leaving the non-profit she did extensive research into statistics and what mental health resources were available to men. What she found was staggering.

鈥淔ive men, every hour, die by suicide in North America alone,鈥� she explained. 鈥淓leven Canadians die every day by suicide and eight of them are men.鈥�

Further research revealed many men struggling with mental health issues, by all appearances, seemed like they had it all. A good job. Family. Success.

鈥淭hat just didn鈥檛 sit with me,鈥� said Chisholm. 鈥淚 have two sons. I have a husband. I just didn鈥檛 want a world that didn鈥檛 address it.鈥�

Chisholm also found several men she interviewed, from every walk of life, shared many things in common.

鈥淚t really came down to a couple of things,鈥� she said. 鈥淟oneliness, because they felt they were the only ones going through this, and purpose was the other one that came up. So we wanted to make sure that men realized that they aren鈥檛 alone, that there are a lot of guys out there who just want to connect.鈥�

That was the beginning of the he app.

鈥淕ender norms have been the way they have for so many generations,鈥� added Chisholm. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been, man up. Suck it up. Move forward. But the world has really shifted and we figured it was a good time to bring something like this into the market.鈥�

The beta version of the app has been running for a year and is available on and the . It鈥檚 currently free.

鈥淭he app is really in its infant stages right now,鈥� explained Chislom. 鈥淭he plans that we have for it, we鈥檙e so excited to bring them forward, and we鈥檙e updating as we go.鈥�

Chisholm鈥檚 husband Mike hosts podcasts through the app called heCast. Guests have included Humboldt Broncos crash survivor Ryan Straschnitzki, local business owners and residents, and a soon-to-be-released podcast featuring Hockey Night In Canada鈥檚 Ron McLean.

鈥淪ome of the men on the podcast have lost children or gone through a divorce, or lost businesses,鈥� said Chisholm. 鈥淭hese are things that create stresses, that if you don鈥檛 have some way to manage it, they can have devastating results.鈥�

The app also includes a community just for men to share. Chisholm felt it was vital they have that space.

鈥淲e were intent of having that community be that,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur mantra is 鈥榯ake what you need and leave what you know.鈥� You know things other guys can glean from, but you can also take from that too and add to your life about how to navigate a new situation.鈥�

Chisholm pointed out, that as a society, we still have stigma around mental health, but it鈥檚 not a word she likes to use or hear.

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 just about mental health, she said. 鈥淭his is about all levels of your fitness. It鈥檚 like riding in a car with a flat tire. You may not even notice it for a while, but eventually, you hit the rim and you stop. That鈥檚 really indicative of how what it鈥檚 like to balance our fitnesses.鈥�

gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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