Barry Yhard: First Connection Volunteer of the Year 2025
It's National Volunteer Appreciation Week this month, and as we do every year at this time, we recognize one volunteer for outstanding contributions to our First Connection Peer Support Program.
This year, Barry Yhard receives the Trisha Antonini First Connection Volunteer of the Year award. (The award is named in memory of a pioneering First Connection volunteer.)
Barry says having Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (HL) was his biggest mental health challenge - even more than the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) he was diagnosed with a few years before his medical discharge in 2015 from the military. (He served in Afghanistan, among many other assignments and deployments.)
Soon after his discharge, Barry received a diagnosis of stage 2 HL. In his mid-50s at the time, he completed AVBD chemotherapy six months later.
Barry says he's grateful he learned about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLSC)'s First Connection Peer Support Program. "They matched me with a trained volunteer who is a HL survivor, someone who I could ask things that I couldn't ask anyone else."
Barry has paid it back. He's been with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada's Atlantic Region as a First Connection volunteer himself now for years to help other people through their diagnosis.
The dark years of PTSD were to shape Barry’s future and become the focal point in his quest to assist others who were suffering from mental illnesses. It was during this phase of his life that he became involved with beekeeping and formed Abbigail Honey Farms as a coping strategy to assist him deal with depression and memories that were part of his PTSD.
After expanding his education, Barry was hired by the Directorate of Mental Health Ottawa as a mental health peer educator/master trainer and now spends his time travelling the country presenting mental health education to federal uniformed personnel. He continues to provide educational seminars to staff and volunteers as well as input into mental health initiatives.
Take a listen to Barry telling his story at The Blood Cancer Experience podcast.
Congratulations, Barry, on receiving the 2025 Trisha Antonini First Connection Volunteer of the Year award!
If you're interested in learning more about the First Connection peer support program, and how it might help you or someone you know who has a blood cancer diagnosis or takes care of someone who does, please reach out to learn more.