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

A recently launched mental health app allows Canadian military veterans dealing with mental-health struggles such as post-traumatic stress disorder to speak anonymously with someone who truly understands what they're going through: another veteran. 

"It's to help us get things out of our head that are just rolling around, and to help us vent to make our day a lot better so we can move forward and not have all these scenarios in our heads that are caused from triggers," said Victor Sanderson, a veteran and brother-in-law of The Burns Way app's namesake. 

"It's veterans helping veterans, so veterans would know exactly what the person is going through, and you'll be able to talk him down from wherever he's at in his mind."

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 putting an emphasis on First Nations and LGBTQ+ veterans.

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

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

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

Volunteers get training

Sanderson said the project has been in the works for the last eight years. Over the summer, a national volunteer recruitment project began ahead of the app's launch.

The volunteers receive training in Mental Health First Aid for the Veteran Community, a course developed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

The Burns Way program is delivered by a Canadian not-for-profit 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 and peer support.

"When you have a problem and it just doesn't want to go away, so you wait for the next day to come along and you're trying to get through the day," Sanderson said. "This is what the Burns Way is all about — to help veterans get through their hard times."

Sanderson hopes the app will make a difference in the lives of those struggling due to their life experiences and "keep families together, to help them move forward."

Canada has more 461,000 veterans. More than 90,000 of those are expected to experience a diagnosed mental health disorder, including depression, PTSD or anxiety.