National Commission on Mental Health Wants to hear from us!

Just over a year ago I had the very good fortune to have a personal invitation to address the National Commission on Mental Health as they began the first part of their community consultations. The commission, chaired by the Honorable Michael Kirby, has a ten year mandate to undertake a national reformation on mental health care. It is one of the most significant undertakings in addressing the systemic problems that Canada faces on a day to day basis in meeting the needs of those challenged by mental health issues. It is a well known fact that 1 in 5 Canadians are affected and that means there is hardly a person in this country whose life has not been touched in some way or another by mental health. Mental health knows no boundaries, no gender, no culture, no age, no geography. Just about anyone who works in the mental health care system knows who Michael Kirby is and we have been buoyed at his leadership because we are hopeful for positive changes.



I have just received my second invitation to participate in further discussions with the NCMH to review the document that was gleaned out of the first round of community consultations. I was absolutely thrilled to be invited back to participate. FAME is only family based organization invited to be a part of this review. Over the whole GTA, there have been only 30 invites sent out and we got one of them! I think, as the Executive Director, what makes me even more hopeful is that pretty much one year after the commission began this undertaking, they are following through and producing documents with directions and recommendations. The current document they about to unveil will list 8 major directives for this country's steps towards reform. The input they want from us now is basically to ask us if these are what they heard as the 8 top priorities.



The document will arrive here in the FAME offices some time over the next few weeks, giving me a chance to read, mull, think and bring forth our position on this important document. I am hopeful, that since we have been asked once again to be a part of this process, that the commission has recognized that families have a major role in the participation of recovery and management for a family member affected by mental health issues.



I will continue to press for what I spoke to the commission about in my prior presentation. Things like consideration for the Compassionate Leave Act, pressure to the province to broaden the approved medication lists, pressure for funding support for family based support programming and a reminder that even children can become caregivers and that they too have needs that need to be met.



Stay tuned, I will blog again shortly after receipt of the document. In the meantime it feels darned good to know that a national commission has got FAME on their radar. Finally, participating in this February roundtable will give us a chance to wave the banner that celebrates FAME's 20 years of serving families all across the GTA.



Respectfully,

the ED

"simply divas" is simply magic!

Wow. 2009 already! On behalf of the staff and the board of directors here at the Family Association for Mental Health Everywhere I'd like to extend best wishes for a happy and more importantedly a healthy new year filled with hope and wellness.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to begin to encourage our friends, family members and associates to come on out and join us for this year's "simply divas". The divas have been cast and are already busy rehearsing. It's a stellar line up this year with lots of fun and surprises that will leave you feeling diva'fied in a way you never knew you could be! There will be everything from swag bags to the return of the divatini's! The diva chefs are busy cooking and testing new recipes to bring you a whole new lineup of hors d'ouevres inspired by the diva songstresses! It'll be another amazing afternoon in April on Queen Street and you won't want to miss a minute of it.

The diva line up this year include: the incredible, sultry Nina Simone; the kick ass rock'n'roll of Joan Jett; the cool country attitude of Loretta Lynn; some punk'n'fun with young up and coming diva, Pink; Canada's own kd Lang; the timeless icon of Madonna; the 80's rhythm nation Queen, Janet Jackson and the blue eyed soul of the late great Dusty Springfield. The first half of the show is hosted by the diva personna of the incredible Dame Shirley Bassey and trust me lambs, this broad don't pop her cork for just anybody!!!! Danica Brown is back as our Musical Director and will finally get her time to shine as the second half host. It'll be an afternoon to remember.

Make sure to mark down the date and I'll be looking for you!

Yours in song,
the Executive Diva
Christine

A picture is worth a thousand words.....

A picture is worth a thousand words! What an overwhelming response we have had to our family holiday gatherings this year at FAME! No one, but no one could have prepared us for the magic that our Home Sweet Home themed holiday parties could create for us and for the families that have joined us for these very special occasions. I was so moved at the Mississauga party where one couple informed me that they couldn't recall the last time their family had so much fun and they had heard so much laughter in an evening. It was a very powerful moment for me and I found myself having to catch my breath. What a pleasure it has been so far to share this time with families. This year has been extra special as well in that we finally put on our very first fameKids event, hosting a dozen children (it was a kids only extravaganza!) and they loved every minute of it. We've got one more party to go (out in Scarborough) and we are setting record attendance this year. Go figure. Who'd have thought that gingerbread and candy could bring so much joy.

I'd like to take my hat off to the FAME staff for all their hard work in making this happen this year. Mary, Frank, Paul, Lyndsay, Anie, Afrooz, Michelle & Nicole! Your hard work has paid huge dividends to the families we serve. And to our volunteers....without you, it doesn't happen! Also a big huge shout out to the CHUM-CITY Christmas Wish who so generously help support FAME in our annual holiday parties. All the best to our families and friends this coming holiday season and much good health for the new year!

Christine

Thanks Lembi!

People have always told me that I was a force to be reckoned with, a bundle of never ending energy and always willing to stand up for causes that everyone else would turn their back too because the uphill climb seemed to be too daunting. Then I met Lembi Buchanan. Let's talk about a force, boy oh boy, this girl could take a lesson from that girl! Lembi Buchanan has been a long time advocate and champion in the community of mental health. Her sheer will and determination buoy me and only makes me want to dig down a little bit more to find that extra effort to make sure that I can bring all that I can and do all that I can do for the community that we live in.

For those of you who don't know all that much about her let me give you a little insight. Lembi, who's husband Jim, who is the complete love of her life, is afflicted with bi-polar and when the government saw fit to refuse Jim the Disability Tax Credit, Lembi decided to take them on. Now we all know what taking on "the man" can be like. It can leave one feeling like a bug on the windshield, simply to be wiped away. Lembi wasn't having any of that. In the end, the Buchanan's won their bid for Jim's DTC and ultimately this all led to changes in that legislation.

When Canada Post announced its original intention of releasing a postage stamp in support of the mental health community everyone was thrilled. The trouble was that the original stamp left many of us feeling that the imagery of the stamp only reinforced the negative connotations about mental health with its swirling insignia.Lembi took this challenge on head first. Imagine what it takes to get a federal postal agency to completely scrap the original stamp template and replace it. Well she did it and just this past October Canada Post unveiled its Taking Steps campaign with the new stamp. Thank you Lembi.

Lembi's commitment to working in this community didn't end with that challenge. Currently the Buchanan's oversee the Nickel-A-Drink Foundation which is looking at petitioning the government to encourage them to levy a five cent taxation on all alcohol sold, with revenues to be directed to the addictions and mental health community. She is relentless and tireless in her pursuit of improving the quality of life for those affected by mental health and addictions.

Most recently we at FAME have had the good fortune to be the on the receiving end of Lembi's good work. A few weeks ago I attended a fundraising dinner hosted by Lembi, Jim and the Nickel-A-Drink Foundation. It was a great evening with the highlights being the keynote address by Andre Picard, author of the Globe & Mail series "Breakdown - A Crisis in Mental Health Care". The second highlight was hearing from Jesse Bigelow, an extraordinary young man who has reclaimed his life from schizophrenia. At the end of the evening Lembi announced that all proceeds from the evening would be coming to FAME, yes you read that right, coming to FAME in support of the fameKids programming. Lembi had told me that after speaking me about fameKids she's come to realize the gaping holes in support for children in dealing with mental health issues.



This Thursday I will be attending the Nickel-A-Drink Foundation AGM to receive what will be the first installment of a donation. The generosity and support that NAD has shown FAME is so greatly appreciated, as is Lembi's efforts to put FAME out there in the community and make others aware of our programs and services. If you'd like to know more about the Disability Tax Credit improvements, the Nickel-A-Drink Foundation or the Canada Post campaign (which I mentioned in an earlier blogposting) then check out these links:

http://www.disabilitytaxcredit.com/
http://www.nickeladrink.com/
http://www.canadapost.ca/CPfoundation/default-e.asp

Finally, Lembi, on behalf of all the families that we serve, a big fat thanks. You absolutely inspire this girl!

How Sweet It Is!

There is nothing quite like home sweet home! This year, for some fun and to add a different kind of sweet side to the FAME annual holiday parties we've decided to let you build your own home sweet homes!

That's right, it's all about the gingerbread, the candy canes, the gumdrops and licorice whips. Oh wait, something is missing....oh yes...and the chocolate! Spoken like the true chocolate loving woman I am!

We are going to provide our families with Gingerbread House kits, all the trimmings are included and all you have to do is to put them together. We thought it would be an absolute blast and tons 'o fun for families to get together and build their own home sweet homes! The best part of this is that when you are all finished you get to take your gingerbread house home with you so that you and your family can enjoy it over the holiday season. We are also going to give away some prizes for Home Sweet Homes that are everything from the most lopsided to the most candified! You are welcome to bring along your own extra trimmings (I highly recommend things like Smarties, M&M's, ju-jubes etc.) just in case you want to go all out!

If you want in on the fun you have to pre-register with your family outreach worker so we know how many kits we'll have to have on hand. As well you'll need to bring along your own baking sheet or a fairly solid board/cardboard so that you can carry your gingerbread house home!

We look forward to seeing you out at this year's holiday gatherings because here at FAME we know there is more to life!

Christine

In the Presence of True Greatness

I can honestly say that there have only been a few moments in my life when I have actually been at a loss for words. They have been very few and far between but yesterday was one of them. Being in the presence of absolute greatness will do that to a girl. I was so blessed to have a chance to meet simply one of the greatest men, one of the greatest catalysts to social change, one of the greatest persons who have made significant impacts to poverty in the world, Dr. Muhammad Yunus. I'm sure there are a few of you out there who are saying "who?".

Ok, let me put it to you this way, Dr. Yunus is to social change what Wayne Gretzy, Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali was to sports. If he were a rock star his name would be Bono. If he were an actor he would be a Paul Newman. Ok, so now I'm pretty sure you've got the idea.

Yesterday afternoon, my friend Michelle Bake, who is also the Director of Marketing & Community Development here at FAME (in addition to being the founder of the Etobicoke Make Poverty History Group) and I were at the Metro Convention centre for a day of motivational speakers from Richard Zaslow (co-author of The Last Lecture) to Gary Kasparov (can you say Checkmate) to Barbara Walters (or for some of you Baba WaWa) to Michael Phelps (gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold....did I get them all?) to Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

During his speech Dr. Yunus talked about how he began the Grameen Bank, the development of social business and the future of capitalism. In 2006 Dr. Yunus and the Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Price for their work in the eradication of poverty and the development of the microeconomics movement in Bangladesh. He is the founder and the engineer of microcredit and is on a mission to try to build a world free of inequality and poverty. He believes that there is a way. When he spoke he was gentle and quiet. He brings with him a softness that makes you wonder how it is that he actually managed to achieve this place on the world stage. Yet there he was, sharing his message and his story. You could hear a pin drop in the room, it was that powerful. At the end of his presentation the room stood on its feet and my friend Michelle turned to me and said do you think there's any chance we'll get to meet any of these speakers. I told her probably not, more than likely they are all scooped up and off to some green room for refreshments and the press junket, after all, these are world renown people.

During the next speaker, who began sounding more like a used car sales man meets Donald Trump, we decided to step out to the lobby and have a look at the books for sale. As I was paying for my copy of Dr. Yunus's latest book, "Creating a World Without Poverty", Michelle elbows me and says...."Christine....it's him!" We look up and there he is, standing there, by himself, no one around us at all other than the woman processing my credit card purchase. We began babbling like a couple of girls who just bumped into Brad Pitt.

Dr. Yunus is just as warm and gracious face to face as he was on the stage in front of 5,000 people. As I spoke with him, he took my hand in his hand, cupping my hand with both of his hands. We asked him if he would mind signing our books. For ten minutes the world just stopped. I told him that my daughter Megan would have been over the moon to hear him and he asked me about her. When I told him she was at university he asked what she was studying and I smiled and said with a huge amount of great pride, International Development and then said "I believe that one of these days she'll be working with you...." I am awed by his presence and his grace. I am buoyed by his joy and belief that we have the innate ability to make changes, even if they are small ones. For the privilege of being here and living our lives we have a moral and social obligation to make a difference in the world. Yesterday, Muhammad Yunus simply reinforced that message in my heart. I am truly grateful for that moment.

Ask yourself this.....Today, what can I do to make this place I live in better, just one small thing. Then do it.

Respectfully,Christine

p.s. a word of thanks to Chair, Gregory Dickson for being so kind in providing this amazing opportunity to myself and Michelle to be a part of that special event. We are indebted to you and grateful for your generosity.

Finding Healing through Creativity

We've been blessed with a very talented staff here at FAME. Each one comes with their own special talent and their own special way in sharing their talents with each other and more importantly with the families that we serve. I've been giving a lot of thought to different ways that we as an agency are able to reach out and not only work with families but empower them to find healing and solace through ways they had never considered before. It didn't take me long to realize the power of healing through the avenues of discovering the therapy that we call art, in many different forms, can be just as effective and powerful for many family members.

Over the past few years we've witnessed the advent of art therapy and the benefits it has brought to consumers in their recovery. The use of art as a therapy often provided a way for many to find a different path in helping them to understand their illnesses and often a portal back into the world so that others too could understand them. So what if we took this very same approach with families and began to look for ways to incorporate art therapy in their own recovery as a family member. It could be a bridge between a family and their ill family member, a bridge that was different and creative. Creative is good. Different is good. Bridges are good.

Over the next few months I've decided to work with the staff in looking for new pathways for families, incorporating and encouraging the use of art and art therapy as a form of recovery for themselves. Imagine the power to journal and find the words you need to say to help you realize your struggle. Maybe it will be through photography or painting or drama or music. One never knows when one opens that door will it might lead. What we do know is that door needs to be opened.

To the families I say stay tuned. The staff is blessed with writers, artists, musicians and performers. It is a new journey for all of us. No matter what though, we will stay true to the tenet that we, here at FAME live and work by....at the end of the day, it's all about the families.

Peace and love to our families,
Christine