May marks Mental Health Month, a time to reflect on our personal mental health and to bring awareness to the impacts of living with mental illness. Mental Health Month invites us to consider our resilience and how we might, together, dismantle the stigmas that so many experience.
For our May spotlight, we are pleased to introduce you to Steven Belanger and Sharon Roberts. Both Steven and Sharon have facilitated workshops in peer support environments for writers from all walks of life. They are also featured panelists for our upcoming Why We Write: Ottawa event.
DESCRIBE YOUR JOURNEY AS A WCC FACILITATOR – HOW DID YOU FIND US, AND WHEN DID YOU BECOME A FACILITATOR?
STEVEN: I joined my very first workshop at the beginning of the pandemic, in the fall of 2020. An incredibly gifted, artistic acquaintance posted a link to a workshop on Facebook, hosted by Writers Collective of Canada (then called Toronto Writers Collective). I thought I was signing up for a technical writing workshop, and about five minutes in, I knew I was in deep trouble. Five minutes after that, I was writing and reading first draft poetry to strangers on Zoom. It was not at all what I expected. I immediately signed up and then attended the next session, and then the next. Weeks became months.
That wonderful collective of humans were my companions during long periods of isolation, and Sunday mornings–when the writing group took place–quickly became my favourite day and time of the week. I looked forward to entering that virtual room.
After about a year, a facilitator suggested I consider becoming one too. I applied and was accepted, and undertook facilitator training in June 2022. I have facilitated workshops primarily focused on military personnel and first responders, and a Wildfire Write since then.
SHARON: I became a WCC facilitator in either 2018 or 2019 when Janet Creery connected with the organization and got them to bring it to Ottawa through Mood Disorders Ottawa. So I was in the first cohort of Ottawa facilitators. It was pretty exciting to have this new program. Over the years, I’ve facilitated for MDO; a collaboration with Somerset West Community Health Centre with Nagad Hersi; a Veteran’s group; SDA church (Writing for Spiritual Growth) in-person and then online; for the BIPOC community (which started here in Ottawa with Maria Sabourin). Myself and others currently facilitate a workshop at the Royal Ottawa Hospital. I think that’s it.
WHAT BRINGS YOU TO VOLUNTEERING? AND HOW DOES FACILITATING WORKSHOPS IN PEER SUPPORT SETTINGS ALIGN WITH YOUR OBJECTIVES AS A VOLUNTEER?
STEVEN: Family tradition I suppose. I always volunteered in a way, as my father did. Together he and I helped in the building of the fire station where I grew up. In the early 90s, my grandfather and uncles volunteered through the fire department, supporting burn victims and running child toy drives. My grandmother, mother, and sisters did extensive work, facilitating church dinners and helping in schools. Community service work was necessary to be a part of something.
In my 20s, after I left home, there were more automotive clubs and the Humane Society. My 30s were related to ALS services after my father was afflicted by and passed from the disease. My 40s have allowed for a return to volunteer work through the cadets program, coaching sports, and fundraising within National Defense.
WCC allowed me to reach beyond my comfort levels, and deliver a more connective service to people in need of meaningful, accessible community. My overall compass tends to point to helping the voiceless, people unable to call for help. Interesting how the WCC has aided in deepening and evolving my fundamental human need to help others.
SHARON: I began volunteering as a part of my recovery journey after becoming ill with anxiety and depression. I became so ill that I was forced to quit my job as a registered dietitian. After years of treatment-therapy, medication, etc., as a part of re-entering the work world, I decided to volunteer at a retirement home in my neighbourhood. I chose that place because it was close to my home so I didn’t have to depend on anyone for transportation, and it was fun facilitating with the seniors. It also provided social interaction which is loss for anyone with a mental illness.
When I discovered Psychiatric Survivors of Ottawa, which was my first encounter with peer support, it filled a void in my life. I took the programs that they offered. It was life-saving for me to connect with others who shared similar experiences and struggles. It gave me hope, so as soon as I discovered that there were opportunities to facilitate these programs, I attended the trainings to do so. Facilitators for mental health programs play an important role in assisting individuals on their recovery journey as they start to reclaim what has been lost.
MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH MONTH. CAN YOU DESCRIBE HOW THE WCC PROGRAM IS A TOOL FOR SUPPORT FOR THOSE LIVING WITH A MENTAL ILLNESS?
STEVEN: I think the ease of access, zero-dollar cost, and the consistent delivery make WCC workshops the safe places where people will be heard. There is a lot of messaging about mental health, nonetheless accessing resources in a timely manner can be extremely challenging while a person is in distress.
Campaigns may allude to the need for communication, but rarely are those slogans coupled with the delivery of the framework, the guidance, the community wherein you share and are heard. In this regard, WCC talks the walk and walks the walk.
SHARON: When I first became ill with mental illness, one of the tools that I used was journaling. I remember breaking down my wellness tools into Emotional, Physical, Spiritual and Mental and thinking of things that I had been doing and could be doing to help myself get better and stay well. This was an important part of my recovery journey and got journaling started for me. I have many journals from back then. I realized that writing my thoughts down was healing and restorative. When I got into writing to prompts with WCC, that took things to a whole other level. Writing was/is a part of it, but having the honour and privilege of listening to the creations of others in the groups was/is supportive, inspiring, uplifting and just sensational. That’s probably the best part.
I often witness individuals who say at the beginning, I really can’t write and then…. It’s hard to put it into words, but they are astounded by what they write, what comes out of them when writing to the prompts. The magic, the joy, the release, the transformations. It’s out of this world. Writing is a phenomenal tool for healing. It’s life changing.
WHAT DO YOU EXPERIENCE IN A WCC WORKSHOP, WHEN YOU WRITE WITH OTHERS IN PEER SUPPORT SETTINGS? WHAT IMPACT DO THESE WORKSHOPS HAVE ON THE WRITERS?
STEVEN: I am altered. By other writers’ presence, their thoughts, bravery, and support. I recently reviewed some older writing of mine and some more recent, and you can hear a change over time. I get to place a marker in the timeline of my life – a bullet, a milestone – and relive the place later on. I can see where life took me from there, that particular point in time.
SHARON: This is one of the first poems that I wrote at a session. I think it says it all.
My life has purpose yes I do
That includes me and you
As I awaken to the new or old dawn
My steps and breathing will go on.
The people in my path each day I meet
A meal, make the bed or sweep the street
Many who struggle with a mental illness say
I need some help to stave my way just for today.
Come over to MDO, take a seat we will soon start
No not today, you will not depart.
REFLECT ON ONE OF WCC’S SIX ESSENTIAL PRACTICES. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU, AND WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF IT IN YOUR WORKSHOPS?
STEVEN: Number four: We will hold in confidentiality everything written and talked about in this workshop. For me, it is the foundation on which all the other Practices build upon. The fundamental element here is trust, with the facilitator and with the other writers. Many of the writers in my groups have sworn oaths, job related in nature, but ones where breaking of such oaths come with consequences. Thus, this Practice holds a lot of sway with me and the writing population we serve. In building this trust, we invite significant courage.
SHARON: The sixth Essential Practice is one that stands out for me. WCC stresses the importance of deep listening. Listening is as important as writing in our workshops. As I wrote previously, listening and writing go hand in hand. When we listen, we give support, bear witness, provide encouragement, demonstrate compassion and empathy, and grow ourselves.
WHY DO YOU WRITE? TELL US ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO WRITING!
STEVEN: You would have to ask writing. I keep trying to quit, but writing keeps reeling me back in.
It has become wildly necessary in my life. Remembrance is a very large aspect of why I write, the storytelling tradition. I think it’s how I grapple with loss, love, death, fear, joys and desires, and the complex parts of being human. I love to write about the natural world, about landscapes and time passing. I love that I can perhaps provide a perspective – an angle of view – new to a listener or reader, that might, just might, alter them as they do me. Writing lets us relate to each other and find connection in the difficult parts. It’s a mirror that reminds me of what I am, and it’s a crystal ball that suggests what I may be. Writing is black magic of a sort.
SHARON: Writing has become a lifeline for me. I wrote my story with my mental health journey many years ago and I have been sharing it in mental health spaces like the Royal Ottawa Hospital, NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program, PSO, MDO, ODSP, churches, cultural organizations to encourage others, those living with mental illness and caregivers.
I write because I feel listened to (heard, seen) without feeling judged, without feeling that I am burdening others. It’s also fun and helps me to have a good night’s rest.
I love being with others and what better way to do that, than to write in company.
Thank you, Steven and Sharon, for reflecting on Mental Health Month and the significance of writing together in community, peer-support settings. We at WCC are grateful for your steadfast work. We can’t wait to hear from you at Why We Write: Ottawa on June 10!