A dedicated support group for islanders living with bipolar disorder is launching later this month.
The new group aims to provide “a safe, welcoming space” for people with bipolar to connect, share experiences, and support one another.
It will officially launch during a visit from Canon Conor, a mental health advocate and community leader who lives with the condition himself, as part of ‘Human to Human’ week – a series of events hosted by local charity Focus on Mental Illness.
Canon Conor is visiting Jersey for three days from Monday 23 June, during which he will headline the charity’s programme of events with a public talk titled Light in the Dark: A Conversation on Mental Illness, Hope, and Recovery.
The free event takes place at 6.30pm at the Salvation Army in St Helier, and booking is required via Eventbrite.
He will also contribute to a recorded conversation for the charity’s archive of personal mental health stories.
Alongside the support group launch, the week will include an open day for Change Minds, a new heritage-based project in partnership with Jersey Heritage that uses history and creativity to explore real-life stories from St Saviour’s Hospital archives.
“We wanted to create a space for honest conversation that highlights the strength, wisdom, complexity, and humanity of people living with mental illness,” said a spokesperson for Focus on Mental Illness.
Canon Conor, who was born and raised in Lisburn Co. Antrim Northern Ireland, was ordained nearly three decades ago and is an inner-city Parish Priest in the Archdiocese of Liverpool looking after St Matthew’s and St Cecilia’s Parishes.
Since being diagnosed in 2015, Canon Conor has been open about his own experiences to help others going through the same thing.
Canon Conor first spoke out about being diagnosed bipolar and his experience of suicidal thoughts during the launch of Paul’s Place, a counselling service for those bereaved by suicide in Liverpool. Since then, he has gone on to speak at various conferences and events – including in Jersey.
As well as being heard regularly on BBC Radio Merseyside, he is Chair of Trustees of Family Welfare, a counselling and advocacy charity, while in his ministry he has supported many families bereaved by suicide as well as experiencing suicide in his own extended family.