By Troy Gillard and Sheldon Spackman

Peer support group for men launches in Red Deer

Oct 22, 2018 | 5:33 PM

A bitter child custody battle led Mike Thibeau to seek help, only to find there wasn’t any.  So he decided to help change that.

Thibeau has launched the Man Up Support Group for men struggling through life changes such as divorce, separation, custody challenges, parental alienation and self-care.

“It’s been a little bit of a difficult year for me. So I reached out and tried to seek out groups, people that I could talk to about what was going on and there was really nothing out there,” Thibeau says. “I was really disappointed and surprised, really, that there wasn’t anything like this for guys that are going through this kind of thing.”

The former 106.7 THE DRIVE morning host and current marketing manager for Southside Dodge Chrysler Jeep says the idea for Man Up came to him during the summertime while speaking to a business friend about potential meeting spaces. Soon after, a web designer was found to help launch a website.

“I’ve reached out to probably 10 or 11 different groups and organizations and individuals here in town that I knew that would probably be receptive to helping out, and I’ve gotten awesome feedback for it, so I’m pretty excited.”

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The Man Up Support Group will have its very first meeting this Thursday, October 25 at 7:00 p.m. at the Funhaus in Red Deer (4940 54 Avenue).

“Things can spiral out of control when you get really fired up about some of the things that are happening,” he admits. “Tthe goal of each individual meeting is to have at least one positive come out of it. Whether it’s meeting someone who is going through something very similar to you, whether it’s meeting someone who has gone through what you’re going through and can kind of give you pointers and tips on what they’ve done to get through it.”

He says presenters will be at every meeting to share their expertise in a variety of fields such as law, grief counselling, mental and physical fitness and financial planning.

Thibeau says men who attend the meetings will be able to share their stories and build comradery and friendships with others going through similar circumstances.

“When you’re right in the midst of something and you’re battling it, you’re not really looking outward. This will give you an opportunity to seek out the help that you need that you maybe didn’t know that was there.

“As guys, we don’t really talk about these things, we kind of internalize and sometimes do things that aren’t necessarily the healthiest,” laments Thibeau. “There’s no judgement, it’s just you’re going through tough times and so basically what I want to accomplish is I want to help change some guy’s perspectives, I want to help change some lives. Ultimately at the end of the day, it’s really all about the kids and giving you the tools to try and have a better relationship in those relationships that have broken down.” 

To learn more visit manupsupportgroup.com.