{"id":8705,"date":"2026-09-10T10:06:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T15:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fondationdouglas.qc.ca\/?p=8705"},"modified":"2026-09-10T10:06:02","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T15:06:02","slug":"lets-bond-creates-a-grant-to-advance-bipolar-disorder-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fondationdouglas.qc.ca\/en\/news\/lets-bond-creates-a-grant-to-advance-bipolar-disorder-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s Bond Creates a Grant to Advance Bipolar Disorder Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Let\u2019s Bond Foundation is once again joining forces with the Douglas Foundation to create a research grant in honour of someone very special: Jonathan Laurin.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jonathan\u2019s family chose to establish this grant to advance research on bipolar disorder. We sincerely thank them for their trust.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Through this initiative, we want to honour Jonathan and share who he was, while highlighting how his story continues to make a meaningful difference today.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We met with Anna-Isabelle, Jonathan\u2019s longtime friend and a volunteer who has been involved with Let\u2019s Bond since its very beginning.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What followed was a deeply personal conversation filled with memories, emotion and, above all, immense affection for Jonathan. Today, we invite you to share in part of that conversation.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are people who leave a mark that can never be erased. People who fill a room with warmth, light, and generosity without even trying. Jonathan Laurin was one of those people. \u201cHe would walk into a room and light it up. He was truly like a sun.\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s Bond was born from a natural convergence of two worlds. For a long time, Anna-Isabelle had witnessed the reality of mental illness up close \u2014 a member of her family was living with bipolar disorder. Diagnoses, medication adjustments, darker periods: she had seen it all. A lawyer by training, she became involved with the Douglas Foundation, where she would serve on the board of directors for seven years, convinced of the importance of research and the need to develop more tailored, more humane treatments. At the same time, her partner, Louis-Philippe, co-founded Let\u2019s Bond. Anna-Isabelle helped grow the organization from the very beginning \u2014 \u201ctheir baby,\u201d as she still calls it today. Naturally, the paths of Let\u2019s Bond and the Douglas Foundation eventually crossed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the people who gravitated around Let\u2019s Bond from its early days was Jonathan Laurin. A close friend of Anna-Isabelle and Louis-Philippe, and a presence impossible to forget.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He sold tickets for the Bal Urbain, participated in events, and brought people together wherever he went. \u201cEveryone wanted him at their party,\u201d Anna-Isabelle recalls with a nostalgic smile. \u201cHe was positive, always there for others.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Becoming an ambassador for Let\u2019s Bond was, for Jonathan, a way to give meaning to what he was going through. Behind the light he brought to those around him, he was also experiencing profound suffering.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the years, Jonathan lived with bipolar disorder and faced a reality that many loved ones of people living with mental health conditions know all too well: finding the right treatment can be an extremely difficult journey.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn your head, it\u2019s so complex,\u201d explains Anna-Isabelle. \u201cYou try medications, there are side effects, sometimes you don\u2019t recognize yourself anymore\u2026\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But for Jonathan, the suffering wasn\u2019t limited to what he was experiencing mentally. It was also deeply physical. He often spoke of pain in his body, a constant, heavy ache that was hard to explain. Despite the treatments, despite the attempts to help him, he didn\u2019t feel like he was getting better. He felt disconnected from himself, as if he were gradually losing a part of who he was.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the pandemic hit. Isolation set in. Jonathan gradually withdrew, cut ties, and moved back in with his mother in the Laurentians. Despite the efforts of his loved ones, his suffering grew heavier and heavier.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One evening in June, the news broke: Jonathan had died by suicide. The shock was immense. Incomprehensible. Anna-Isabelle remembers getting into her car to go be with Jonathan\u2019s mother, whom she had never met before. \u201cI just knew I had to be there.\u201d She arrived holding a plant in her hands, not knowing what to say or what to do, except try to share a little of the weight of that pain.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And\u00a0then\u00a0there\u00a0was\u00a0one\u00a0detail\u00a0no one\u00a0will\u00a0ever\u00a0forget.\u00a0Before\u00a0he\u00a0died, Jonathan\u00a0had\u00a0hidden\u00a0little\u00a0love notes all\u00a0around\u00a0the house for\u00a0his\u00a0mother. Messages\u00a0she\u00a0continues to\u00a0discover,\u00a0even\u00a0today, as time\u00a0goes\u00a0by. Like one final\u00a0way\u00a0of\u00a0taking\u00a0care of\u00a0her. Like proof\u00a0that\u00a0even\u00a0through\u00a0suffering,\u00a0his\u00a0love for\u00a0others\u00a0remained\u00a0immense. \u201cHe\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0want\u00a0to\u00a0hurt\u00a0people,\u201d Anna-Isabelle\u00a0says,\u00a0her\u00a0voice\u00a0still\u00a0fragile.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the midst of this tragedy, those small pieces of paper say so much about who Jonathan was: someone deeply caring and sensitive. A few days after the funeral, while the grief still felt unbearable, Anna-Isabelle felt an urgent need to transform that pain into something greater. \u201cI told myself: we have to do something. We have to create a grant in his name.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And that is how the Jonathan Laurin Grant for Hope was born.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This gesture carries a profoundly human message: even through pain, we must continue investing in research, supporting the researchers working to better understand the brain, and believing that it is possible to improve care. Because it is through research that we will develop treatments tailored to each person\u2019s needs and medications with fewer side effects. It is through research that we will find the solutions\u00a0we so\u00a0desperately\u00a0need.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Anna-Isabelle speaks about Jonathan, the emotion is still palpable. But it is that very emotion that drives her to act \u2014 and that builds hope that things can change.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In memory of Jonathan Laurin.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Let\u2019s Bond Foundation brings together dedicated young professionals working to break the stigma surrounding mental health. Since 2011, the foundation has been raising awareness within Montreal\u2019s business community and organizing events that bring people together to raise funds for partner organizations working in prevention, research, and rehabilitation.<\/span>\u00a0To date,\u00a0Let\u2019s\u00a0Bond has\u00a0raised\u00a0$1.5 million in support of the Douglas\u00a0Foundation.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Jonathan Laurin Grant for Hope will support bipolar disorder research at the Douglas every year.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Jonathan Laurin Grant for Hope will be awarded annually to support bipolar disorder research at the Douglas. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8699,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-partnership"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fondationdouglas.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fondationdouglas.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fondationdouglas.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fondationdouglas.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fondationdouglas.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8705"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/fondationdouglas.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8709,"href":"https:\/\/fondationdouglas.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8705\/revisions\/8709"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fondationdouglas.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fondationdouglas.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fondationdouglas.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fondationdouglas.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}