We are Deacon Eric Gurash and Melissa Gurash. Together we founded Emmaus Family Support Ministries in 2018. Several years ago one of our children was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. It quickly became clear to us that, when it came to support for ourselves, as primary caregivers of a loved one with serious mental health challenges, there were very few resources available.
As we began speaking with others about our experiences as caregivers, it was apparent that we were not alone. In sharing our experiences, we are regularly approached by spouses, parents, and friends who provide companionship and support for loved ones, who themselves feel the need for ongoing peer support.
We are not a clinical resource, nor should this ministry be seen as a replacement for clinical and theraputic treatments for mental health challenges. We do not offer professional counselling services or referals and cannont make mental health dianosis.
This site and our parish-based spiritual support ministry have been developed as a means of providing resources and support for people experiencing mental health challenges and those who support them. Our mission is to help create spaces within our Catholic parishes and communities where people experiencing mental health challenges and those who support them can gather to share their experiences and their Catholic faith with each other, offering mutual support and to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
Walking Together
The name “Emmaus Family Support” is based on Luke 24:13-31 and the story of two companions on the road to Emmaus attempting to comfort and console each other and how they suddenly discovered Christ in their midst. The story underscores the collaborative, mutually supportive nature of our ministry. It also acknowledges the often surprising presence of Christ whom we have discovered suddenly traveling at our side as we gather with others who share our experiences of struggle and of hope.
We do this using a spiritual-based peer support model that involves the mutal accompaniment of individuals with lived experiences of mental health challenges within the family.
What is Peer Support?
Peer support involves the coming together of individuals with lived experience of, in our case, mental health challenges within the family. Peer support focuses on shared learning, building resiliency, walking together, and moving forward towards a healthier life for ourselves and those whom we care for.
“While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him…they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them.” – Luke 24:15-16;28-29
Be a Gentle Presence in Someone’s Storm: Mental Health First Aid
Emmaus Support Mental Health Ministries 