By Rebecca Haliburton

Barrie Black (BA’71, LLB’71) has always been known for bringing people together. Whether as the president of the Law House during his years at the Dalhousie Law School or as president of the Dalhousie Alumni Association, Barrie has helped countless organizations foster the relationships they need to grow and connect in their communities.

Since beginning his role as DAA President, Barrie has worked closely with the outgoing president Jim Wilson (MBA’87) to engage more alumni and to expand the services they provide to past and present students. You’ll often hear Jim refer to Barrie as his wingman in helping bolster the Dalhousie Alumni Association from one active chapter to twelve.

With the support of the growing alumni community, the association has introduced a mentoring program and expansion of chapters that are championed by Gayle Murdoch (BComm’04, MBA’06) and James Stuewe (BMgmt’05, MPA’09), respectively. Barrie credits the success of the mentoring program to Gayle’s drive and expertise in connecting students with alumni to foster a true mentoring experience.

“We started out manually bringing students together with alumni to support and give direction one-on-one to form an understanding of what university experience is like. It’s grown to the point that the university is developing software where students and mentors can more easily connect and grow.”

“One in 5 people are going to be affected by some sort of mental illness in their life”

Barrie’s work at Dalhousie draws an interesting parallel to his work off campus with Laing House, a peer support organization for young adults aged 16-29 living with mental illness. Barrie has been involved with Laing House since its inception in 2001, and most recently retired from his role as Chair of the Board of Directors.

“Laing House gives young adults the opportunity to rebuild their lives and recover socially after being impacted by mental illness. One in 5 people are going to be affected by some sort of mental illness in their life. There is support at Dal and there is support in the community. If a student is struggling with their mental health, they can talk to a Dalhousie counsellor who can get you on the right path.”

Laing House has been a resource for Dal students for years. Not only does Laing House offer a haven for students living with mental illness, it also provides a unique environment for students to earn credit towards their degree. Laing House has hosted Dalhousie students studying social work, nursing and occupational therapy for their work terms, allowing hands on experience in a small community space.

Through Laing House’s Youth Speak program where members talk about their experiences living with mental illness, there have been presentations for Dalhousie medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and recreation therapy students to discuss their recovery from a patient perspective. Barrie has used his strength in building connections to continue to grow Dalhousie and Laing House’s partnership in order to secure reliable resources for Dalhousie students in the mental health field.

Moving forward

Barrie, as President of the Dal Alumni Association, continues the development of the alumni mentoring program and his ongoing efforts to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness on and off campus. As a champion for students’ successes, Barrie continues to promote mental wellness at Dalhousie and foster partnerships with organizations like Laing House that are essential to the continued growth of a support system for students. With the upcoming Laing House Masquerade Ball, A Night in Espana on October 25, it’s never been a better time to come out and support the youth living with mental illness in our community.