DELTA (NEWS 1130) – He has a mental illness, he is gay, and he is a person of colour. Today, Alex Sangha speaks up for others like him who don’t always have a voice. Our look at the recipients of the 2021 Coast Mental Health Courage To Come Back Awards continues with a profile of the winner in the Mental Health category.
It’s hard enough to talk about sexuality or mental health at the best times, but in some cultures it just isn’t done at all. Growing up in a South Asian household, that was certainly true for Sangha.
“You know, I can never understand why my brothers wanted to play with trucks and get all dirty and do all the rough stuff,” he recalls. “I wanted to be clean like a princess!
“When I was in preschool, I was dressing up in saris and putting on lipstick and wearing earrings and I didn’t know what was happening with me.”
Sangha admits he didn’t have an easy time as there weren’t the supports there are now.
“There was no Internet, there was no cell phones, there was no gay-straight alliances, there was nothing. There was no Grindr even,” he tells NEWS 1130.
“I secretly went to see a psychiatrist to help me to make me become straight. But during this whole process I always felt different.”
Eventually, Sangha was overtaken by thoughts of suicide. So he started his own resources, like Sher Vancouver, which supports South Asian LGBTQ youth.
“I started it because there was a number of very high-profile suicides in the community and it really hit me hard.”
Back in 2000, a young man threw himself off the Pattullo Bridge after being bullied at school for being gay, even though he wasn’t. For Sangha, this was a tipping point.
“Homophobia can impact anyone, it doesn’t matter if you’re gay or straight or bisexual or whatever,” he warns. “Discrimination is discrimination and we need to stop bullying, racism, homophobia, transphobia, period.”
Vancouver Pride would later name him its first Sikh Grand Marshal to recognize his achievements.
“The Pride thing was really amazing because I always felt like kind of an outsider in the gay community, to be honest, as someone who’s tall, brown, middle-aged, bald,” he admits. “You know, I’m not that good-looking young white guy with the six pack.”
Today, Sangha is a counselor in private practice, showing not only the Courage To Come Back, but the courage to give back. He’s even working on a documentary about growing up gay and South Asian. Emergence: Out of the Shadows is being released to film festivals this summer.
“What’s the point of me going through this if I’m not going to help others with what I’ve learned and what I’ve experienced?”
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NEWS 1130 is a proud sponsor of the Coast Mental Health Courage To Come Back Awards, which raises critical funds for people living with mental illness right here in B.C. You can make a difference by donating today. Visit couragetocomeback.ca to learn more.
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