During their time on the Vancouver Canucks, Kevin Bieksa and Rick Rypien shared an extremely close friendship, and Bieksa has become a vocal advocate for mental wellness in the years since Rypien’s tragic suicide resulting from struggles with depression.
Appearing on The Cam and Strick Podcast, Bieksa recalled when he drove to Rypien’s house during a leave of absence from the team and insisted that Rypien live with his family so that he could continue to be around others while going through his personal struggles. Rypien wound up staying with the Bieksa family for roughly a year.
“Sick not weak,” tweeted Bieksa about Rypien.
In the continuing conversation around mental health, destigmatizing the issue has been one of the most important aspects in fighting against depression, so that talking about mental health and asking for help is something that becomes more normalized.
All these years later, it’s still tragic that Rypien wasn’t able to get the help that he needed, but one of the ways to carry on his memory is to make sure that the next Rick Rypien can get that support. It’s great to see Bieksa continue to lend his voice towards the issue of mental health.
h/t The Cam and Strick Podcast
