Peer Support of Sudbury full of ‘heart and soul’ - Dube

What I seek is attention for our little agency and the wonderful people who make it what it is. I see Peer Support of Sudbury Inc. as the equivalent of “the little house on the prairie” of mental health and addiction services.

Yes, we are small, but we have lots of heart and soul, and we care for one another in real, tangible ways.

We eat together, and everyone knows breaking bread together has a long tradition of forging lifelong bonds of friendship. The joy and laughter we share during these meals enable us to make do with what we have. We are so grateful for the donations we receive from the Sudbury Food Bank.

Without them, and the generosity of Sudburians, we would be eating alone at home, and everyone knows that isolation is not healthy for anyone, especially for people suffering from mental health issues and those recovering from addiction. Have you ever heard the saying “when you are deep in your own thoughts, you are deep behind enemy lines?” This is especially true for people experiencing depression or anxiety or loneliness.

We may be small but we sometimes get 50 people for lunches. Our volunteer chef, Harold, cooks up the best chili, soups and meals in town and everyone appreciates his efforts and that of his helper, Jim. They cook up meals twice a week and we follow that up with groups, bingo, art or just plain old discussion.

We have gone go-karting, horseback riding and have been to the IMAX in the last few months. These social recreation events get us moving and interacting with others in our community. It sure does beat sitting alone in a little apartment in front of a television.

As you likely know, sensory stimulus is crucial to good mental health, as is exercise and nutrition. We eat, play, laugh and enjoy one another’s company in our recovery.

I could write about the stigma and discrimination some of the members face but I’d rather keep this article positive, because a positive mental attitude goes a long way. We know all about the problems, but let us focus on the solution for a while.

We take care of ourselves one day at a time and we enjoy helping others. Helping others gets our minds off our problems and this is always good, because there isn’t much we can do about them. Schizophrenia, bi-polar, addiction and other issues never disappear but they can be forgotten and managed with a support system in place, and Peer Support is one piece of that system. We also have caring doctors, nurses and volunteers who assist us when we need them.

One lady had a birthday celebration at the centre the other day and people sang Happy Birthday three times. They just sang their hearts out because singing makes them feel good. We are not going to put the Mormon Tabernacle Choir out of business anytime soon, but we are trying to put mental health problems out of commission, one note at a time.

Celebrating milestones and achievements is important for us because heaven knows how easy it is to criticize, judge and condemn, but it is so much better to lift, encourage and support.

We just wanted to reach out to our community and let others know where and who we are and to thank all of you who support us.

Ritchy Dube
Peer Support of Sudbury Inc.
Greater Sudbury