“It is important for people struggling with a mental illness to surround themselves with others who understand what it is like to live with one on a day-to-day basis,” says bill bissett of the Secret Handshake. Experiencing schizophrenia himself, bissett says, has opened the doors of mentoring for him because he is able to connect deeply with those in the community who live with schizophrenia and mental illness.
The Secret Handshake holds group meetings twice a week, during which members of the club gather to discuss their daily lives and receive support, should they need any. “Mental difficulties have been a big part of my family, so I like this place because people can freely express their struggles and share great art,” says Sook-Yin Lee, Canadian broadcaster, filmmaker, and Secret Handshake member.
On the other days of the week, except for Mondays on which the clubhouse is closed, the Secret Handshake hosts art shows that display the work of more than 20 artists with schizophrenia, a lot of them prominent figures in the art world. The Secret Handshake displays art from all over Canada and the United States, and new art is brought in every two months.
“What is unique about this is that we are all volunteers, rather than a doctor coming in, or a nurse being present. This is peer support,” says bissett. “There are people I talk to on the phone almost three times a day, and speaking to them actually helps me because the things you say during counselling to people who are going through difficulties are words to live by.”
bissett was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1939. As a child, bill’s dream was to become a professional dancer and figure skater, but various stomach surgeries caused him to spend most of his childhood in an oxygen tent, isolated from others. “One day in the oxygen tent, I thought maybe I could paint, because I could feel the lines moving through space, which for me was one of the thrills of dancing and skating,” says bissett.