Like almost everything in our world these days, this year’s Community Report looks and feels different. As we grow our virtual connections, we hope you will enjoy clicking, exploring, reading, sharing, and learning more about the work we do.

2019-2020 was a milestone year for the Foundation. We set a lofty goal of distributing $1,000,000 in Community Funding for the very first time. Thanks to you, and your shared passion, we not only met our target, but surpassed it.

This achievement allows us to have a greater impact on the lives of Nova Scotians who are living with mental illness and addiction, and their loved ones. We are supporting more youth, more seniors, more veterans, more first responders… more Nova Scotians in their own communities, than ever before.

We look forward to thinking boldly, reaching further, and inspiring many others, to change the way people think about mental illness and addiction in our province, and beyond.

Thank you for your continued kindness, generosity, and unwavering commitment to caring. You truly are changing lives.

Let’s keep growing!

Starr Cunningham
President & CEO

As Acting Chair of the Foundation, I would like to pass along my sincere thanks to our Board of Trustees, committee members, volunteers, donors, stakeholders and staff. The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia experienced an exceptional 2019-2020.

Beyond exceeding targets in Community Funding, we strengthened our capacity, developed several new partnerships, and fostered a spirit of hope across the province.

Having just participated as a member of the Glorious Ladies ABBA Group in A Different Stage of Mind, I can honestly say, the Foundation makes a powerful impact and changes lives.

I would like to pass along a special thank you to our retired Chair, Darrell Johnston, for his commitment and dedication to the success of the Foundation during 2019.

We have much to celebrate, and much left to achieve. On behalf of our entire Board of Trustees, thank you for caring about the more than one in five Nova Scotians who are currently living with mental illness and addiction.

Alisa Alyward
Board of Trustees Acting Chair

“The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia fills the gaps that are not provided by public funding. Without the Foundation, the gap of mental health services and treatment would be so much wider than it is now. We’d be so far behind, it would be very worrisome.”

– Dr. Howard Conter, Donor & Mental Health Advocate

EMMA’S STORY:
TUNING INTO WELLNESS

NSHA GRANT

My illness started in 2017. Growing symptoms of anorexia nervosa, the formal diagnosis, hit a critical mass in late 2019 and so I ended up in the Abbie J Lane in the Eating Disorders Inpatient Program. My admission, though voluntary, was a choice made hesitantly and with conditions. I was only to commit to four days, just to see if I could handle the program. Those four days were misery as I sat idly in my hospital bed. It didn’t cross my mind once that my time at the Abbie would go any differently than that but then came Rec.

When Bob Baird first met with me he simply asked what I enjoy. Not what I’m good at or what I do for a living but what I do for fun and what I’m passionate about. Music was the first thing that came to mind so Bob signed me up for the music group every Monday and Thursday. I didn’t know what to expect. I was rusty at playing guitar and overwhelmingly shy and disinterested in singing and playing since developing my eating disorder. On Thursday I sat down with a guitar and a song book in front of me at a table full of strangers. Slowly but surely I started playing along to a messy rendition of Riptide by Vance Joy. Messy is a polite way to describe how we all sounded strumming and wailing together but by the end of the group, I was smiling ear-to-ear.

My young roommate who was in the Eating Disorder Program with me expressed some interest in learning guitar. Bob spotted an opportunity immediately given that I knew enough guitar myself to act as a bit of an instructor. He set us up with one of the guitars to play around with in our room during the significant downtime we had on bed rest. This particular roommate found her passion more in painting than music but I started picking up the instrument in my spare moments more and more.

At first I played softly for a few minutes at a time, as not to disturb the others in the room. Over the next few days, those minutes snowballed into longer stretches that got significantly louder as the songs I‘d forgotten over the past years started to come back to me.

On the Rec outings with Bob and his students, we’d often end up talking guitar and music in general. He encouraged me to make goals of learning more complicated songs in my spare time, even providing me with chords and lyrics. When given a task, I tend not to back down from it, so off I went to the music room to work on The Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters and original material.

After a little while, people started joining me in the music room to play along or even just to listen. Through that, I found myself making friends with others in the hospital – I even found myself laughing and smiling! Dare I say, I was enjoying myself and making meaningful connections.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, I committed to staying in the hospital for as long as my doctor recommended. The prospect of a few more weeks was far less daunting with a guitar by my side, my music group to look forward to, and our weekly outings with Bob and whatever bright young student he had for the month. Even though my first roommate decided she was more inclined to the world of water colours and acrylics, my next roommate came with a similar passion for music and the hope of learning guitar. Bob didn’t have to say anything before I offered to teach her and this time, it took. We worked on Johnny Cash for 20 minutes a day (as per Bobs recommendation) for about a week before she decided it was time to move to an Ed Sheeran number.

| saw the same spark in her that I’d had at 14 when I first picked up the guitar. We both found ourselves playing daily, giddy about not being able to put it down, and wanting to spend all our spare time in the music room. That was just one of the things that enforced a very special bond between us and something I will never forget.

By the time I was discharged, 1 month and 1 day from my admission, I was in tears. This time because I was overwhelmed with gratitude and love for those who saw me through what was supposed to be nothing but a painful process. Though it did come with pain, it ended up being one of the most important and fulfilling things that’s happened to me in my 25 years of life. And though many are owed credit for that, I owe an immeasurable amount to the recreation therapy program and all who work within it.

Without these healthy distractions from all the trials and tribulations of early recovery from an eating disorder, I’m not sure I would have finished my treatment at all. Having something outside of your illness, something to humanize you and take you away from the abnormality of being in a hospital, if only for a moment, is invaluable to getting well. I saw this not only for myself, but many others on the unit.

Without recreation, life would just be work. No time in the sun. No getting lost in a song. No bonding over a shared love of dancing or painting sunsets. If it was only the constant grind of trying to pick up the pieces or push through another day, what would be the point of persevering? What would be waiting for you on the other side?

For all this program gave me, I can not say thank you enough. As long as Rec Therapy continues with people as committed and enthusiastic as those who run it now, and the resources they need to provide the best possible treatment, I have no doubt those who come after me, in the same vulnerable phase of life, will get all the value and comfort I did during this process.

Emma Wells
Abbie J. Lane Recreation Therapy

CARMEL’S STORY
YOUTH PROJECT

SAFER & HEALTHIER TRANSGENDER YOUTH COMMUNITY GRANT

Carmel Farahbakhsh has seen the incredible change that happens when transgender and gender non-conforming youth are provided with the support they need to thrive.

“There’s been such beautiful transformation of character,” says Carmel, Youth Project Support and Advocacy Worker. “Youth that seemed so shy or anxious are finally able to contribute to Youth Project programs, and also in their classrooms. They’re more engaged and more able to create lasting and meaningful personal relationships.”

Carmel supports hundreds of 2SLGBTQIA youth who benefit from the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia funded Binders & Gaff Program. The initiative provides gender gear to those who otherwise wouldn’t have access.  Binders help trans masculine teens compress the chest, while Gaffs help trans femme folks achieve a flatter, more gender-affirmed look. Both items enable youth to better express themselves and align with their gender identity.

“Almost all of my conversations I have with youth always filter back to what are my options in terms of gender and gender affirmation and they have a lot of questions. Sometimes my role is going to a school to meet with a youth and the guidance counsellor has asked that I bring a binder or a gaff. The youth is excited to see me, kind of, but much more excited about the gender-affirming garment,” laughs Carmel.

It’s a simple program with a multifaceted impact. The use of gender gear reduces the risk of mental illness, addiction, violence victimization, substance use, and suicide — all of which Trans or gender non-conforming youth experience disproportionately to their cisgender peers. It also increases self-confidence while allowing youth to forge a sense of self.

“It gives youth autonomy over how their body is perceived which is really crucial. It’s really important for these young folks to feel empowered about what they wear, how they are perceived,” says Carmel. “When they feel seen, and valued, and validated, their mental health improves exponentially.”

An invaluable program empowering transgender youth to lead safer, happier and healthier lives.

SHURENDA’S STORY
LOVE NOVA SCOTIA PARTICIPANT

COMMUNITY GRANT

It’s a 12 year long life-changing relationship that all started because of pizza. Yes, pizza!

Shurenda Michael is a confident 24-year-old recent university graduate today, but half her lifetime ago she was a shy grade seven student who was being bullied and felt all alone. She credits her personal and academic success to an organization called LOVE (Leave Out Violence) Nova Scotia. It’s a very familiar group to the Mental Health Foundation, as we have been providing it funding for double-digit years.

“They came to our small school at Sipekne’katik and invited us to stay after class for a meeting to learn about the programming they offered. They also said they had pizza, so a lot of us decided to stay!”

That delicious first meeting turned into more than a decade of sharing, learning, breaking down walls, and growth for Shurenda.

As a child, Shurenda was raised by her grandparents. They provided her with everything she needed, but some of her peers believed she was a spoiled, rich kid because she wasn’t openly struggling as much as they were. Shurenda says that was far from the truth. She was struggling, but no one knew because she fought so hard to hide it.

“I was missing my father and I was missing my mother. I wasn’t a spoiled rich kid. I was a broken kid who felt like I didn’t fit into my community.”

Shruenda signed-up for regular LOVE programming immediately, and soon found herself sitting in a circle of sharing with several of her bullies. She says she quickly learned the circle was a confidential place, where kids were taught about respect, boundaries, and most importantly, trust.

“Three years into the program, one of my biggest bullies came to me and apologized. He said he didn’t realize we were going through similar situations at the time. That never would have happened without LOVE.”

Shurenda participated in LOVE programming until she graduated from her high school. When she made the move to Halifax to attend Saint Mary’s University she became the first LOVE member to make the transition from Sipekne’katik to LOVE Halifax.

“I was in a new community, but it felt like I was back home again.”

This March, Shurenda was diagnosed with complex PTSD from childhood trauma. She says it has been tough, but she is learning how to cope and stay healthy. While just 24, she certainly understands the importance of maintaining good mental health.

“I work to stay connected and not isolate. I focus on figuring out my triggers and avoiding them. It takes a long time to get well. You really don’t realize how many walls you have put up until you start trying to break them down.”

These days, Shurenda continues to be active with LOVE. She participates as a camp counsellor at provincial camps for youth, and often has meetings with LOVE staff when she needs some extra guidance.

When asked if she has any tips for staying healthy, she instantly speaks of her grandfather.

“My grandfather was a police officer for 25 years. He used to tell me he would go sit by the ocean and tell it about any of the hard times he encountered on the job. He’d say it out loud and then let the waves take it away. I do the exact same thing now. I find a quiet place by the ocean to sit and then I let the waves carry out my troubles.”

Shurenda graduated with a degree in Sociology. She plans to work toward becoming a Social Worker so she can give back to her community.

If you ask me, it seems like a perfect fit for this smart, strong, passionate young woman who has so much wisdom and courage to share. And as an added bonus, she certainly knows how to get young people interested in coming together… yum!

~ All of us at the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia are incredibly proud of Shurenda, and the amazing impact of LOVE NS.

BRANCHING OUT WITH ADDICTION FUNDING

Swany’s Challenge, our newest Named Grant, is an adventure therapy experience aimed at supporting male-identified young adults living with mental illness and addiction. The program incorporates a series of nature and trip-based experiences geared to support behavioural change in memory of Jonathan David Cosman.

Jonathan “Swany” Cosman was the kind of guy who lived for the great outdoors.

“He always wanted to go outside,” remembers his brother Justin. “He was never one of those guys who wanted to stay indoors… He was always outside wanting to do stuff in the yard; building stuff.”

Known to his friends as Swany, Jon had a knack for making something out of nothing. He and his brother would gather up supplies on the spring clean-up garbage day to build go-karts, and other inventions. He liked the snow so much he created a snow machine to extend the season and built a chair lift of sorts in his front yard for all the neighbourhood kids’ sleds.

“He loved to ski,”says his aunt Dawn McCormack. “He almost built his own ski hill in the front yard and ski jump so that he could practice his ski jumping…”

“In the summer,” adds Justin. “He liked skiing so much he built this wooden platform… that goes down off the higher level of the deck and he put this material on it so he could ski on it in the summer and practice jumping and stuff.”
Jon struggled with mental illness and addiction. On March 26th this year, at the age of 26, he died as a result of an accident precipitated by his illness.

Outdoor and adventure-based therapies were an important part of Jon’s treatment. Knowing how much he enjoyed it, his family wanted to create an adventure-based therapy program for male-identified young adults living with mental illness and addiction. Swany’s Challenge was born.

“Jon’s parents, Lauren and Michael, felt it would be really nice if they could help at least one other person through some kind of positive experience like Swany’s Challenge,” says Dawn.

Swany’s Challenge is an adventure therapy experience aimed at supporting young adults living with mental illness and addiction. The multi-day therapeutic wilderness paddling expedition will be led by a certified guide and counselor. It will provide participants the means to reconnect with themselves and the natural world while bonding with others who share similar life challenges.

“Around a campfire you share stories and connect with people differently than you would just hanging out in a regular setting,” says Justin. “So I think that lends to the experience that they’ll have, with not just the counselor, but people going through the same thing… so they’ll be able to relate to people and build connections and a support group for themselves.”

The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia is proud to launch Swany’s Challenge as its newest Named Grant. Building a legacy of adventure in memory of Jonathan Cosman while providing hope and support to the countless Nova Scotians who will undoubtedly benefit from Swany’s Challenge.

ROBERT’S STORY

LANDING STRONG NAMED GRANT

“I was living alone, hurting myself. I felt like a stranger in a strange land.”

Robert Garnier is 55, but he just celebrated his third birthday… sober. As a Second Lieutenant with the 2nd Btn. Nova Scotia Highlanders (CB) (Cape Breton Highlanders), his life changed dramatically in 2007 when he learned of the shooting death of one of his own, by one of his own in Afghanistan. The Cape Breton native went AWOL following the event, unable to return to his unit and unable to live with himself, or anybody else.

“Six months later, my marriage fell apart. I was mean, I was angry, and I was drunk.”

Robert says he turned to liquor so he wouldn’t feel. Then his hangovers allowed him to focus on physical pain, rather than mental. At the height of his alcoholism, Robert recalls drinking 60 ounces of hard liquor a day, for about a week and a half consecutively.

“I was drinking myself to death, and I knew I needed help. I started to think about my son and I knew he was very skeptical of me. My need to get better came from a place of love for my boy.”

A former reservist friend of Robert’s recommended he see a psychologist named Dr. Belinda Seagram. He accepted the advice and made an appointment. His life took an immediate turn for the better.

“I’m eternally grateful and respect her immensely.”

Belinda is the founder of Landing Strong – a non-profit organization in Windsor, Nova Scotia that’s dedicated to promoting resilience and assisting recovery from PTSD and Operational Stress Injuries. The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia is incredibly proud to be a lead funder of this innovative community-driven program.

“Landing Strong gives me back what was taken from me. It keeps me connected and gives me feelings of belonging, purpose and value. I’m seeing this program work for others and the dramatic changes in them; I’m behind Landing Strong 100%.”

Robert is taking his sixth consecutive group program offered by Landing Strong and says his peers have become more than just friends. Lately, he has been joining his virtual family by a video app due to Covid-19 fears. His current program is called, ‘Mind/Body Health & Recovery’. It focuses on diet, the brain/gut relationship, and chronic pain. The discussion is led by a naturopath.  Art Therapy follows the lunch break where more of the internal dialogue can begin.

“It is quite a cathartic experience. Our art therapy instructor allows us to get the poison out – out of our mind, and out of our heart. We create something and then we talk about it. It’s like opening a creativity vault for me.”

And Robert is really good at it! One of his favourite creations features a stack of leaves. It started with one leaf that had a hole in it from a hungry insect. He stacked it on top of a bunch of others, and likened the hollow leaf to himself. He says the other foliage represents his Landing Strong supports.

“I’m starting a brand new life again. My son and I have a better relationship. He recently told me he really liked this new dad, but didn’t like the old one very much.”

Robert says he knows his recovery is not a bullet train, but rather more of a horse and buggy ride. And he’s willing to put in the time.

“I’m hugged when I walk into group. We all hug each other. We are connected like that. We see each other at the grocery store or at a sporting event and we stop and hug each other. I’ve created a friendship with these people. They are my Landing Strong family.”

A family you can count on to hold you up, and celebrate those special occasions with… occasions such as a milestone marking three years of healing and hope.

LET’S KEEP TALKING

Five dedicated Nova Scotians were honoured for inspiring others at the 6th annual Let’s Keep Talking with Theo Fleury:

Jessie Cullum, Outstanding Youth
Judi Quan, Outstanding Senior
Marilyn Bright, Outstanding Healthcare Provider
Elsie Morden, Outstanding Individual
Sarah Rahr, Outstanding Caregiver

Special thanks to Bell Let’s Talk and J&W Murphy Foundation.

ERADICATING STIGMA

The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia is committed to changing the way people think about mental illness and addiction by working to eradicate stigma through mental health literacy. Thousands of festival-goers learned the signs and symptoms of PTSD at Nocturne: Art at Night where the Foundation mounted an innovative exhibit in partnership with Arrivals + Departures entitled, The First Step in Treating It, Is Seeing It. President & CEO Starr Cunningham also presented at the 6th Annual Helping the Helpers conference in Antigonish helping to dispel the myths and stigma surrounding PTSD.

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