Mental Health Matters - Canadian Mental Health Association, Brant

Mental Health Matters
Official Publication of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Brant County Branch - Fall 2013
Reflections on the Past 27 Years (1986-2013)
by Peg Purvis, Retiring Executive Director
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Peg Purvis retires
after 27 years
1
Staff Directory
2
Reflections on the
past 27 years cont.
3
Highlights Mental 4
Health Week 2013
Shoppers Tree of
Life Campaign
4
Mental Illness
Awareness Week
5
Goodbye to
Catherine Bowser
6
Survivors of
Suicide Day event
6
National
Addictions
Awareness Week
7
Fall Fling & Coffee
Run Event Thank
You’s
7
CMHA Brant
Programs &
Services
8
I came to CMHA Brant as
Executive Director in February
1986 at a time when we were
seeing new investments in community mental health funding
every year by the Ministry of
Health. It was a time of growth
and optimism for the community
mental health sector. I remember being interviewed by board
members Blanche Parkhill and
Patricia Mee. Probably most
people don’t know, but I actually
applied for the job in 1985 and
was not successful. Ron Childs
was hired as the branch’s first
Executive Director, but in 1986
Ron left the position and the
board came back to me, their
second choice, and asked if I was
still interested. I sure was. I was
working at the Brant District
Health Council at the time and
was looking for a new opportunity. Funny how things happen isn’t
it?
When I started at CMHA, our
office was located on Wellington
Street in one room of a lawyer’s
office across from City Hall and I
was the only employee. I remember typing letters on a manual
typewriter that was temperamental, but feeling that CMHA
was making an important
contribution. By June of that year
we had moved to 76 Dalhousie
Street, opened Alternatives
Activity Centre, which was the
vision of Helen Jones and other
board members. I hired the first
two program staff, Barb Ancio
and Peggy Cole. Those early
years were exciting, full of meeting new people, attending meetings, writing proposals and hiring
more staff.
The Graham Report came out in
1988 and called for more investment in community mental
health and promoted the involvement of consumers and
family members. CMHA has had
a long and proud history of involving consumers and family
members on our board to this
day. Over the next few years, we
added Quick Bite, which started
as a vocational program of
CMHA, a housing program at 20
Lyons Avenue and the Housing
Support Program (which was
transferred to the City of
Brantford in 2004).
In 1993, Quick Bite was divested
to Brantford Vocational Training
Association, a consumer/survivor
initiative with its own board of
directors. CMHA then started
the Works For Me vocational
program. We moved residential
staff out of their office at 20
Lyons Avenue into our office at
21 Charlotte Street and developed the Community Support
Services program from that core
of staff.
We worked diligently with our
partners who also provided case
management in those years,
Immigrant Settlement & Counselling Services of Brant and the
Brant County Health Unit, and
developed a coordinated intake
process for our three agencies.
The Ministry of Health’s document, Putting People First,
proposed shifting mental health
funding from 80% delivered in
hospitals to 60% in the community. We are still waiting for this
to happen although we have seen
many investments in community
mental health over the years. On
the whole, we have many more
options for people living with
mental illness and for their families now than we did 27 years
ago, when the hospital was virtually the only place to seek help.
The local health integration
networks were formed in 2007
and now they are charged with
the responsibility for getting it
right.
Continued….pg 3
F a l l
Branch Contact Information Main Telephone 519-752-2998
Welcome to the Fall 2013 edition of
Mental Health Matters
Through the distribution of this newsletter,
we strive to educate the community on new
initiatives in the area of mental health, as well as
provide updates within the Brant County Branch.
Mental Health Matters is published by the
Canadian Mental Health Association,
Brant County Branch.
Layout and production by Lill Petrella,
Mental Health Promotion Coordinator.
Any suggestions or comments about this newsletter,
can be directed to 519-752-2998, ext. 112.
Please contact this number as well, if you wish to be
removed from our mailing list
Name/Title:
Ext.
Peg Purvis, Executive Director
102
Management Team:
Bruce Edgar, Clinical Manager
109
Lill Petrella, Mental Health Promotion Coordinator
112
Team Leaders:
Kirsten Brooks, Court Support
123
Kim Dillon, Community Support
200
Jodie Lockey, Counselling/Treatment
110
Richard Long, Supported Housing
130
Lill Petrella, Social Recreation
112
Administrative Team:
Kelly Capaldi, Administrative Assistant
121
Lynn Petrella, Secretary/Receptionist
100
Linda Prokopiec, Secretary/Receptionist
100
Nicole Roung, Secretary/Receptionist
100
Community Support Workers:
MISSION STATEMENT
To promote a positive approach to mental health
among all people in Brantford and Brant County,
and to enhance the quality of life of individuals living
with mental illness and their families, through
leadership, education, partnerships, advocacy,
empowerment and support.
VISION
A society which values human dignity and enhances
mental and emotional well-being for all.
The Canadian Mental Health Association, Brant
County Branch is a charitable, non-profit agency contributing
to the mental well-being of the community
through education and support services to persons with
serious mental illnesses and their families.
Contact us:
CMHA-Brant
44 King Street, Suite 203
Brantford, ON.
N3T 3C7
Phone: 519-752-2998
Fax: 519-752-2717
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.brant.cmha.ca
Brent Campbell, Urgent Case Manager
127
Matt Campbell, Intensive Community Support Worker
108
Melissa Fudali, Intake/ Intensive Community Support Worker
122
Christine Gadsby, Intake/ Intensive Community Support Worker
117
Jenny Iwanowich, Intensive Community Support Worker
119
Charleen Rolston, Intensive Community Support Worker
105
Elyse Shrubb, Intensive Community Support Worker
133
Katrina Sparks, Intensive Community Support Worker
128
Donna Weick, Intensive Community Support Worker
107
Laura Wickson, Intensive Community Support Worker
111
Mental Health Court Support Services:
Brent Campbell, Court Community Support Worker
127
Diane Hewat, Diversion Community Support Worker
120
Cindy Kemp-Wonzo, Court Community Support Worker
129
Charleen Rolston, Court Community Support Worker
105
Peer Support Workers:
Elaine Karmiris, Peer Support Worker
124
Erika Melnyk, Peer Support Worker
118
Social Recreation Workers:
Brent Goodnough, Life Skills Worker
131
Amy McNeil, Social Recreation Worker
113
Supported Housing:
Catherine Bomberry, Supported Housing Worker
106
Jennifer Taylor, Supported Housing Worker
132
Marie Weatherbee, Supported Housing Worker
Jeff Vanderspek, Property Manager, Phoenix Place
103
519-758-1817
Vocational Support Workers:
Sheila Robertson, Vocational Support Worker (SEI)
116
Laura Wickson, Vocational Support Worker (Works for Me)
111
PAGE
3
Reflections on the past 27 years - continued from front cover
There will always be a role for
CMHA to advocate for what is
needed, to bring the voice of
consumers and family members forward when it seems
like no one is listening. I am
encouraged by the advances
that community mental health
has made over the years. Continue to take up the challenge.
The Ministry of Health make
a commitment in 2011 to a 10
year strategy for mental health
and addictions and we are only
in year two. There will probably always be more needs than
can reasonably be met through
government funding, but we
can be a voice for positive
change. CMHA Brant can
continue to be a leader with
the support of committed
volunteers and staff for at least
the next 27 years. I wish
everyone well who will continue to bring our message to the
LHIN, elected officials and
bureaucrats. And I will follow
your work with continued
interest when I retire at the
end of January.
- Peg Purvis, Retiring Executive
Director
Goodbye Peg and all the Best in your New Journey,
from all of us a CMHA Brant!
Peg was presented with a thank
you plaque at the CMHA Brant
Annual General Meeting on
September 24, 2013. The plaque
consisted of a collage of all the
current staff at CMHA Brant.
Her words were, “this is the
best possible gift you could have
given me.”
This is our tribute to a true
leader, mentor and all around
wonderful person. You have
provided this agency with 27
years of dedicated service. You
have advocated for the rights of
persons living with mental illness, and have worked tirelessly
to develop this agency into the
viable, successful community
mental health agency it is today.
Now it’s time for you. Time to
relax, stop and smell the roses.
Thank you for everything! You
will be missed.
Peg accepting Thank You plaque at the
CMHA Brant AGM on September 24th
Amy, Brent C., Brent G.,
Bruce, Catherine, Charleen,
Christine, Cindy, Diane,
Donna, Elaine, Elyse, Erika,
H.O.P.E. Staff, Jeff,
Jennifer, Jenny, Kelly, Kim,
Kirsten, Laura, Linda, Lill,
Lynn, Marie, Matt, Melissa,
Richard, Sheila
The Staff of CMHA Brant
PAGE
4
Mental Health Week 2013
Special thanks to the 2013 Mental
Health Week Planning Committee,
and to the community of Brantford
for making this Mental Health
Week the best ever!
An excellent example of people
working in partnership towards a
common cause...creating an
awareness of mental illness,
addressing the stigma and promoting positive mental health for
all.
Visit the Brant Mental Health
Week Facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/
BrantsMentalHealthAwarenessWeek
There is much information on all
the 2013 events. Updates will be
posted regularly for 2014.
View 2013 Mental Health Week
highlights, courtesy of Matt Joniec
and Fat Panda Productions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=zrhKFtpeKMg
Photos courtesy of
Janette Dengo Photography
www.JanetteDengo.com
Shoppers Tree of Life Campaign
Thank you to Shoppers on Stanley St. for choosing to support
CMHA Brant in their Tree of Life
Campaign.
On October 5th, Shoppers on
Stanley hosted a Yard Sale &
BBQ, which was a great success.
In addition, donations were accepted by customers during the
entire Tree of Life Campaign
during the month of September.
National in scope, yet locallybased, the Shoppers Drug Mart
annual Tree of Life campaign
gives customers and employees
the opportunity to donate directly to organizations that make a
difference to women’s health in
their own communities.
In fact, their generosity and
participation keeps this tree
alive and growing higher every
year. Over the last 12 years,
Tree of Life has raised over
$22.6 million, with 480 local
women’s health organizations
supported in 2013 alone. Each
store’s Associate-owner selects
a local women’s health charity
deemed especially in need of
assistance.
We are honoured to be chosen
by Shoppers on Stanley three
years in a row!
PAGE
5
Recovery is Possible
What is Mental Illness?
There are different kinds of mental
disorders each characterized by
different sets of symptoms that
affect how we think, feel and
behave. Symptoms can include
depressed mood, extreme mood
swings, disturbances in thought or
perception, obsessions or fears, or
other overwhelming feelings of
anxiety. Most mental disorders
cannot be definitively diagnosed
with an objective medical test.
Diagnosis is usually based on selfreport (what you say you are experiencing), observations by family
and friends, disturbances in your
behaviour, psychological tests and
the judgment and experience of a
health professional (your family
doctor and/or a specialized mental
health professional such as a
psychiatrist or psychologist).
Often people wait a long time
before they ask for help and sometimes, unfortunately, people do not
ask for help for a mental health
problem at all. They and their
family feel that something is wrong
– but they don’t know what. They
may not know where to go to get
help or may be reluctant to ask for
help if they do. In addition, diagnosing a mental disorder can take time
– with many people reporting that
it took months, and sometimes
years to get a diagnosis that fit with
what they were experiencing.
There are a number of reasons
people struggle with a mental
disorder without reaching out for
help: They simply don’t know
what’s wrong and feel they are just
“different”; they feel they can beat
it on their own; they are ashamed
and try to hide their symptoms;
exasperated family and friends tell
them to “get over it”; or they
reach out for help but their first
experience leaves them feeling
disregarded and misunderstood.
Yet we know that the earlier
people get help, the better the
outcome.
One way to get help for yourself
or someone you know as soon as
possible is to educate yourself
about what mental illness looks
like.
First of all, a mental disorder is not
just a feeling or reaction to an
experience or event. There are
different kinds of disorders and
each is identified by a collection of
different symptoms that persist for
a specific period of time and
significantly interfere with a
person’s roles, activities, relationships and/or capacity for self care.
Mental disorders can affect almost
every aspect of a person’s life over
a considerable period of time.
However, people can, and do,
successfully cope with and recover
from mental illness.
Source: http://camimh.ca
Champions of Mental
Illness Awards 2013
for Karen Ajula
Recovery is Possible
for Marli Brown
Recovery is Possible
What is Mental Health?
Living a healthy life has often
meant paying attention–only – to
the many ingredients that make
up positive physical health.
However, we now know that
health is composed of both
physical and mental health and
that the body and the mind interact, with one affecting the
other – either positively or
negatively.
In our culture, the emphasis on
physical health means that most
people can easily list what you
need to do to stay healthy – eat
sensibly, exercise regularly, visit
your doctor yearly for check-ups
and testing, drink alcohol in
moderation, don’t smoke, and
get a good night’s sleep.
Because mental health is less
talked about, when we think
about it, if we think about it at
all, we may conclude that good
mental health is something we
have – or not – and there’s not
much we can do about it.
Balancing Your Life
Mental health means striking a
balance in all aspects of your life:
social, physical, spiritual, economic and mental.
Reaching a balance is a learning
process. At times, you may tip
the balance too much in one
direction and have to find your
footing again. Your personal
balance will be unique, and your
challenge will be to stay mentally
healthy by keeping that balance.
Benefits of Good Mental
Health
Just as physical fitness helps our
bodies to stay strong, mental
fitness helps us to achieve and
sustain a state of good mental
health. When we are mentally
healthy, we enjoy our life and
environment, and the people in
it. We can be creative, learn, try
new things, and take risks. We
are better able to cope with
difficult times in our personal
and professional lives. We feel
the sadness and anger that can
come with the death of a loved
one, a job loss or relationship
problems, or other difficult
events, but in time, we are able
to get on with and enjoy our
lives once again.
Mental Fitness Tips
Think about your emotional well
-being. Assess your emotional
health regularly. Consider the
particular demands or stresses
you are facing, and how they are
affecting you. Give yourself
permission to take a break from
your worries and concerns.
Recognize that dedicating even a
short time every day to mental
fitness, will reap significant
benefits in terms of feeling
rejuvenated and mentally healthy.
for Arthur Gallant
Recovery is Possible
for Bernard Saulier
Recovery is Possible
Source: www.cmha.ca
for Lenore Zann
Recovery is Possible
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=p_EiJVSobEM&feature=player_em
bedded
PAGE
6
Goodbye, Catherine Bowser
We said goodbye to Catherine
Bowser, Court Support Worker
this month. Catherine worked in
the agency’s Court Support Program for the past year.
We wish Catherine all the best in
her re-location and future plans.
Your bubbly personality will be
missed. Thanks for all your hard
work!
SOS Day & Event flyer
much more.
Come in person to
experience the
powerful sense of
connection and
community that is
forged between
survivors of suicide
loss. You are not
alone. This day is
for you.
If you’ve lost someone to suicide, you
may feel
Every year, survivors of suicide
loss gather together in locations around the world to feel
a sense of community, to promote healing, and to connect
with others who have had
similar experiences. This year,
join us for International Survivors of Suicide Day on Saturday, November 23, 2013.
Each location welcomes survivors of suicide loss, providing a
safe and healing space where
everyone can comfortably
participate in a way that is
meaningful to them. Join with
others to listen to a diverse
group of survivors discuss their
losses, how they coped, and
. . . alone, as though no one
understands what you’re going
through.
. . . shocked, even if you knew
your loved one was at risk. You
may find yourself replaying
their last days over and over,
searching for clues.
. . . responsible, wondering
whether there was something
you missed, or something you
could have said or done, or
wished you hadn’t said or
done.
. . . angry, at whoever you
believe is to blame: the doctor,
therapist, spouse, boss, or
principal, for example.
. . . abandoned by the person
who died.
. . . ashamed and worried
about whether to tell people
the truth, for fear of being
judged.
. . . guilty for laughing, having
fun, or beginning to enjoy life
again.
. . . relieved.
Don’t worry. It is normal to
have some, all, or none of
these feelings as you cope
with suicide loss.
The Mental Health & Suicide
Awareness Committee of
Brant will be hosting a
Survivors Healing and Information Day, “Working Through
the Grief of Suicide Loss” on
Saturday, November 23, 2013
to mark International Survivors
of Suicide Day.
More details on this event are
on a separate flyer, included in
this newsletter. For more
information, or to register, call
519-752-2998, ext. 112.
NAAW - November 17-22, 2013
PAGE
Thank You!
Thank you to the Families Caring, Families Sharing Support Group,
donors, volunteers and guests for the wonderful dinner dance fundraiser held on September 14. Funds raised at the event are going
towards consumer initiatives at CMHA Brant.
Thank you to Doug Hunt, et al for braving the foul weather and
helping to make the Coffee Run Ride fundraiser on September 21st
a success. The rain did not dampen spirits. The event raised funds
for CMHA Brant and Participation House Brantford.
7
CMHA BRANT
CMHA BRANT PROGRAMS & SERVICES
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2013/2014
President,
Ruth Gratton
Canadian Mental Health Association,
Brant County Branch
First Vice President,
Deborah Coady

Community Support Services

Counselling

Family Support Program

Life Skills Groups

Mental Health Court Support
Services
44 King Street, Suite 203
Treasurer,
Marlene Robertson
Brantford, ON
Members:
N3T 3C7
Lynda Antoszewski

Mental Health Promotion
Cindy Doyle

Peer Support Program*

Social Recreation Program
Mark Solomon

Supported Housing Program
Wayne Walker

Vocational Support Services
Phone: 519-752-2998
Kate Mannen
Fax: 519-752-2717
Sheri Moss-McDonald
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.brant.cmha.ca
Linda Wood
"Making Mental Health Matter"
*seconded from H.O.P.E.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Membership Form for 2013/2014
Please complete this form and mail with your payment to:
Canadian Mental Health Association, Brant County Branch
44 King Street, Suite 203
Brantford, ON N3T 3C7
Name: ________________________________________________________________
Tel. No. ________________________ e-mail :_________________________________
Address: _______________________________________________________________
I have enclosed: □ Individual $20.00 □ Organization $50.00 □ Limited Income $8.00
Additional Donation : ___________
Total Amount:
___________
□ Please send me a charitable tax receipt
or donate online through Canada Helps at http://brant.cmha.ca/get-involved/please- donate/