App helps veterans suffering from PTSD connect with other veterans for support

A newly launched mental health app allows Canadian military veterans dealing with mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder to speak anonymously with someone who really understands what they're going through: another veteran.

“It's meant to help us get things out of our heads that are just spinning around and around, and to help us make our day a lot better so that we can move forward and not have all these scenarios in our heads that are caused by triggers ,” said Victor Sanderson, a veteran and brother-in-law of The Burns Road namesake of the app.

“It's veterans helping veterans, so veterans know exactly what the person is going through, and you can talk them down no matter where they are.”

The app makes it easy for a veteran to connect with an anonymous peer support person (not a chatbot or AI) 24 hours a day, with no email or login required.

It is designed to be inclusive while emphasizing First Nations and LGBTQ+ veterans.

The Burns Way is named after Earl Burns Sr., a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces died a hero protecting his family during the 2022 mass stabbing in James Smith Cree Nation.

Sanderson said Burns was the person who encouraged him to join the armed forces.

“He told me it would help me in the long run with personal discipline and just going out into the world and seeing what's out there, and not just what's on the reservation,” Sanderson said.

Volunteers receive training

Sanderson said the project has been in the works for eight years. A national volunteer recruitment project was launched in the summer prior to the launch of the app.

The volunteers receive a two-day training program from us Mood Disorders Society of Canadaaccording to the Burns Way website. These trainers are veterans themselves.

The Burns Way program is delivered by a Canadian nonprofit of the same name, and the app is a product of Tricycle Data Systems. That's the same company behind the Talking Stick, which allows First Nations people in Saskatchewan to connect with others for mental health care and peer support.

“If you have a problem and it won't go away, you wait until the next day comes and try to get through the day,” Sanderson said. “This is what the Burns Way is all about: helping veterans get through their tough times.”

Sanderson hopes the app will make a difference to the lives of people who are struggling because of their life experiences and “hold families together, helping them move forward.”

Canada has more than 461,000 veterans. It is expected that more than 90,000 of them will experience a diagnosed mental disorder, including depression, PTSD or anxiety.