Peer support takes place when people with similar challenges come together to help each other. Peer support is available for anyone who is looking for validation, understanding, or a safe space to share their story. It’s an opportunity to talk about your experiences and struggles, share coping strategies and skills, learn from others, express emotions and build connections with people who understand you.
An effective way to bring together individuals and facilitators with lived experience of mental health challenges
A safe space to give and receive support
A supportive community to connect with one another, share knowledge, and enhance mental wellbeing
Our mental health peer support group sessions are 60-minute virtual meetings for older adults to share their thoughts and perspectives on mental health challenges, learn to better understand their mental health, and lend an empathetic ear.
- Weekly meetings with a group of up to 10 older adults in a non-judgmental and confidential space online.
- Group members will select mental health topics to discuss that are relevant to them prior to each session. Challenges navigated could include isolation, loneliness, depression, anxiety, retirement transitions, grief and loss, cognitive decline, and others.
- Sessions are facilitated by a certified senior peer support volunteer who shares your life experience.
Seniors’ Online Support (SOS) is open to older adults who are looking to improve their mental health and connect with a supportive community of their peers.
- Sessions are held over Zoom. For the full peer support experience online, we ask that you have a working knowledge of Zoom and attend regularly.
- Individuals with physical and geographical limitations will have access to a peer support group.
- Online mental health peer support may not suit everyone. This is not a crisis service or replacement for clinical mental health intervention. For those seeking professional mental health treatments, other resources are available (please see below).
For more information, and to register for the program, please contact Community Engagement Manager Susan Lowe at (604) 551-8282 or susan_lowe@sfu.ca.
Overview and Introductions
If you are feeling distressed or are in need of immediate support, there are other resources available to you:
24/7 Emergency Services
If you are in Canada and in any emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest urgent care centre or hospital emergency department:
Call 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) or call/text 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline if you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide.
Additional Supports
- Canadian Mental Health Association British Columbia Division
- Older Adult Mental Health and Substance Use Services - Vancouver
Seniors’ Online Support is a pilot project developed for a research study entitled “Mental Health and Aging: Development and Implementation of an Online Mental Health Peer-Support Platform for Older Adults,” at Simon Fraser University.
- In order to maintain confidentiality and privacy protection, group participants are asked not to share any information disclosed within the group sessions outside of the group. This includes the identities of other participants, their stories, opinions, and any other sensitive information shared during the groups. This practice ensures a safe and respectful environment where all participants can freely express their thoughts and experiences.
- For any scientific or scholarly aspects of the research, you can contact the Principal Investigator, Dr. Theodore D. Cosco at theodore_cosco@sfu.ca
Funded by Michael Smith Health Research BC
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