T O P I C S

Profile of

Hope

1

2

Giving Hope

and Resources

1

2

Help for

Hoarders

2

Journey to

Mental

Wellness

3

Puppets

Positive

Message

3

Return to Work 3

Transitional

Housing

4

community support. This tripod

of mental health gave her the

ability to find joy in her grand-

children, find reconnection to

her daughters, and celebrate

her 50th wedding anniversary

with her husband before her

unexpected death due to com-

plications with pneumonia.

Her legacy to us though, is not

all she endured with her illness,

but that during her life we ex-

perienced moments of pee in-

ducing, jaw aching laughter

with her. No one had the ability

to butcher a joke like my

mother, yet have everyone

around her gasping for air

through belly laughter that

left you weak the next

day. Continued on pg.2

Welcome! I am happy to

present our very first official

newsletter! We hope it is

informative and creates an

awareness in our local commu-

nity of Hastings and Prince

Edward County of the many

resources that we offer. We

work closely with many other

agencies assisting people in

our communities with practical

resources that help them with

significant barriers in their

lives such as homelessness,

and mental illness. These are

great needs and cannot be

met by a single source. Please

join us in supporting those

who need our help. There are

several ways in which you can

do so. Let’s begin by learning

about who we are and what

we do.

August is a

bitter

sweet

month for

my family.

Since

2010, it is both the month of my

mother's birth and her death. In

between these events, she lived

67 years of a life filled with joy

alongside the heroic fight against

the darkness of clinical depres-

sion. At times this darkness in-

stitutionalized her, drove her to

several attempts on her life, and

self-medicating to find a way out

the pain. It was in the last 10

years of her life that she found

support for her mental illness

through a strong family doctor, a

dedicated psychiatrist who

worked with her to find the right

level of medication and finally,

CMHA-HPE exists because of

grants and donations from

several foundations and indi-

viduals. One such gift has

allowed us to expand our

direct support for men who

are dealing with depression

and anger in the Belleville

area.

Maurice Rollins, a well-known

local community figure,

wrote his autobiography 2

years ago, and dedicated its

proceeds to the Canadian

Mental Health Associa-

tion. Mr. Rollins discusses

the impact his depression had

on his life, and his story of

courage resonates with so many

of the men we support.

Since July of 2011, just over

$22,000 has been donated and

has been used to build a support

group for men whose depression

and anger had begun to impact

their lives and their loved ones.

Continued on page 2

A Profile of Hope by Sandie Sidsworth, CMHA-HPE Executive Director

Sharing His Hope and His Resources

C o u n s e l i n g

R e s o u r c e s

Return to Work

Employment

Services

Depression/

Anxiety

Anger

Management

Hoarding

Stress Management

Mental Illness

CMHA-HPE NEWS

HASTINGS and PRINCE EDWARD

September 2013, Volume 1

“For to be free is

not merely to cast

off one's chains,

but to live in a way

that respects and

enhances the

freedom of others.”

Nelson Mandela

A Profile of Hope continued from page 1

Can Hoarding be Helped? By Terry Snider As the Hoarding Coordinator here at

the CMHA - HPE, I have witnessed my

client list triple in the past eight

months. Television reality shows

have brought hoarding out of the

closet, although it gives the impres-

sion that a brief intervention can

overcome a hoarding problem. In

reality, this minimizes the difficult

long-term work needed to stop a

hoarder from relapsing.

Hoarding is a chronic disorder that

worsens over time. It causes very real

safety issues in the home, such as

structural issues due to weight of accu-

mulation, danger of fire, mold, dust,

infestations and lack of access for

emergency workers.

Success depends on compassionate

and supportive family members along

with long term mental health support.

We use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

which requires the client to face their

anxiety by making decisions about

keeping or discarding their items. We

also use a harm reduction model that

involves setting the small achievable

goals to improve safety in the home.

Hoarders tend to be isolated due to

the shame and embarrassment at-

tached to this disorder. Group therapy

helps them socialize and network ideas

together.

It is important that others recognize

the threat of hoarding in someone’s

life because often the hoarder cannot

see it themselves. Our role is to accept

referrals, provide support and educate

the public.

Sharing Hope and Resources cont. from page 1 Parrott Foundation do-

nated further funds to ex-

pand the group support

into direct one-on-one

community counseling for

those who need to move

further in their mental

health and wellness.

This is now a thriving model

of support where 2 small

groups that gather for 8

week sessions have been

delivered to the commu-

nity, with an active wait list

for each session.

In December of 2012, the

We are very grateful to

those whose generosity can

be shared amongst many.

Copies of Maurice Rollins

biography are $39.95 and

can be purchased at the

CMHA -HPE . See page 4

for our address.

laughter because of the seem-

ingly random nature of the

punch line sometime even

weeks later. I must say it was

consummate comedic timing

and I loved her for it.

In our memories of this tiny

woman who fought her depres-

sion for so long, she has left us

with the understanding that the

darkness can contain moments

of joy and her darkness was

driven back, however briefly, by

laughter.

My mother was not my hero in

childhood - the stigma around her

illness during that time in our

culture made it the secret we

hid. However, my mother, Leone

Isabel Stewart is my hero now.....I

only wish I could have told her so.

She is truly my inspiration in sup-

porting the courage of those

facing mental illness every day.

She would laugh with us,

knowing she would never get

to the punch line of the joke

she had kept to share with us,

but knowing it wouldn’t mat-

ter because we would be

sharing pieces of the joke for

days, and finally, at some ran-

dom moment, Mom would

deliver the punch line - dead

pan and stoic in her effort to

conclude it. This conclusion

would leave us bent over in

P a g e 2

P a g e 3

On the Journey to Mental Wellness with Mikki Bushey and Lee Ferrill The journey to mental wellness can take many different routes. For example, our Depression & Self-Esteem Support Group is an ongoing, open support group for individuals who are living with depression. We provide support by caring and encouraging participants to take steps that promote positive mental wellness. When ready, participants are encouraged to

attend our WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action

Plan) group which guides the client in creating

an individualized written plan to help maintain

their wellness for longer periods of time. The

result has been recovery and long-term stabil-

ity. Weekly meetings help group members

navigate stressful life situations, celebrate suc-

cesses, and work through relapses and low

periods. The Wellness group also regularly dis-

cusses the stigma surrounding mental illness,

and how individuals struggling with mental

illness can build supportive, respectful rela-

tionships with family and friends through

education. This gradual process through the

different group stages allows every individual

to navigate through their own journey to

mental wellness at their own pace. This

process supports them through every step

along the way.

Another area of counseling focuses specifi-

cally on healthy masculinity. It is rare for men

to have the opportunity to openly share their

struggles with other men in a safe, non-

judgmental environment. Typically, men are

exposed to the pressures of hyper masculin-

ity (G.I. Joe) in a culture where vulnerability

and compassion are discouraged and even

ostracized. This can lead to years of bottled

up emotions that fester and become poor

behaviours such as violence or rage and can

cause health issues like heart disease and

high blood pressure, and especially

depression.

The small groups of 10 participants run for 8

weeks focusing on identifying and expressing

underlying emotions that are usually mis-

directed as anger, rage and violence. The

group emphasizes the importance of healthy

masculinity, while developing emotional

intelligence and overall mental health and

wellness. In other words, real men feel an

array of emotions and can learn how to ex-

press all of them appropriately.

Mikki and Lee are Counselors at CMHA-HPE

writing, job interview preparation and

communication in the workplace.

They also partner with prospective

employers who provide work for their

clientele. One of the greatest barriers to

finding secure employment is breaking

down the stigma of mental illness. Even

though a client may have recovered and

CMHA-HPE Employment Counselors,

Judy Brant and Roby Graves, have

more than 30 years of experience

helping people with mental health

issues find and sustain employment.

The Return to Work Program includes

preparing the client for work by assist-

ing them with resume and cover letter

is a hard worker who can work well

with others, the label sticks long after

the illness has passed.

Judy and Roby work hard to advocate

for their clients and are committed to

seeing them succeed in the workplace.

This past year, 70% of their clients have

found meaningful employment.

Return to Work Employment Services with Judy Brant and Roby Graves

pet shows to the many children who

took part in the Back Yard Bonanza as

well as the Summer Fun In the Sun. Trav-

eling around, the Gummy Bear Gang not

only put on shows about bullying and

secrets talked with the children about

people they can trust, what to do if they

see someone being bullied, how to help

their friends when they are in need.

Children learn better while having fun, so

we gave them the opportunity to put on

their own puppet plays about what they

had learned

and in turn,

we learned

from them.

They

showed us just how creative and smart

they are about secrets and standing up

to a bully by being kind. Thanks to the

Gummy Bear Gang, a great message

was presented to our communities this

summer.

“Laaaaadies and gentlemen, boys and girls! May I present to you, the nicest gang in town, the one and only Gummy Bear Gang!”

This introduction was delivered in Belleville, Trenton and Deseronto by our summer students, Paige and William. They presented an awesome puppet show teaching children ages 4-10 about keeping secrets and bullying.

This summer the Gummy Bear Gang

worked closely with the Housing

Programs Branch in delivering 15 pup-

Puppets Present Positive Message

Thank you Maurice,

for your generosity!

working on their own. Ideally, clients

stay in the homes for 1-3 months,

although sometimes it takes longer

due to the financial strains on them.

Many of the clients are referred to the

CMHA-HPE from Ontario Works, Hast-

ings Housing Resource Centre, ODSP,

Three Oaks, Salvation Army, as well as

several other service agencies in our

community. With such a high demand

for affordable housing in the Hastings

Prince Edward area, unfortunately we

had to turn away 409 individuals last

year alone. This number is expected

to rise this year due to more govern-

ment cutbacks and lack of funding for

more housing projects.

Amy Sullivan and Joan Gauthier work

together to support people in our

community who are homeless or in

transition from one home to another

due to serious circumstances.

The Canadian Mental Health Associa-

tion of Hastings and Prince Edward

provides temporary housing for

singles, families and seniors through

our three transitional houses; Our

House, Our House Too and Casa Tres.

With 30 beds in total, approximately

140 adults were housed last year.

The houses are consistently occupied

year round in order to assist as many

people as possible with the transition

from homelessness to living an/or

Our tenants have complete access to

the services which CMHA provides as

well as exterior resources in the com-

munity such as; Addictions, Mental

Health Services, Community Health

Centre, Youth Habilitation, Hastings

Housing Resource Centre or the Crisis

Centre.

It is our aim to assist our clients

through the transitional phases of

becoming self sufficient by removing

the barriers to sustainability. This

takes time, practical and monetary

resources and compassion.

Transitional Housing Supports Homeless with Amy Sullivan and Joan Gauthier

”A mind is like a parachute, it

doesn’t work if it isn’t open.”

Frank Zappa

TO CONTACT US: CALL (613) 969-8874

OR STOP BY : 41 Octavia St., Unit 1.

Belleville, ON K8P 3P1

FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO:

www.hastings-cmha.org

Facebook.com/cmhahpeb,

Twitter: CMHA_HPEB

OUR MISSION

“To promote mental health wellness and

community integration, by providing ser-

vices that offer practical help and support to

the people in Hastings and Prince Edward

Counties through advocacy, education and

transitional housing."

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Interested in learning more about hoarding?

We are hosting our 3rd annual

HOARDING WORKSHOP October 17 & 18 2013 at the Fairfield Inn in Belleville.

Cost is $50/day with a free dinner on the 17th.

Call Sandie at 613-969-8874 to register.

***********************************

It’s a FUNdraiser!

Please join us for an entertaining evening with “Elton Joel!”

Local musician, Marc Dion, plays your old favourites with

Gordon Craig and the Quinte Symphony Orchestra

at Maranatha Church on November 16th ~ $25

tickets sold at CMHA and Maranatha Church.

Proceeds go towards the CMHA-HPE and

the United Way of Quinte.