Insight Newsletter a Client Driven Initiative Fall / Winter 2017

Insight Newsletter A Client Driven Initiative Fall / Winter 2017

Have a Good One

A note from the Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) By Paul Krasna

I hope you are enjoying the new format of our newsletter- more compact so it is more portable- it is also now at no cost, a free service to all clients. The newsletter is also available online on the CMHA Middlesex Website under Community Wellness Programs Newsletter. The Insight Newsletter is published twice in a year; Spring/Summer in June and Fall/Winter in December. I would like to thank all my colleagues, everyone on the EAB, for all the helpful input, work and ideas they bring to the table. Working together we produce a newsletter that we can all be proud of. There are many ways to celebrate Canada’s 150. For me, a highlight was an eighteen day road trip to Saskatchewan (See article and photos inside.) We can celebrate our land, our weather, our experiences and our people. Helping one another going forward, no one left behind. “Mental Health for all.” God bless you and God bless Canada 150.

Road Trip to Saskatchewan By Paul Krasna

This summer I shared a road trip with my brother Dan to visit my sister Miriam in Saskatchewan. It had been three years since I’ve seen my nephews, nieces and godson. While there, we explored the province. Some highlights are: The hot, dry prairies, Little Manitou Lake, Lake Diefenbaker, Jack Hitchcock’s cabin, a bison in the distance in Grasslands National Park, Val Marie home of Brian Trottier, the continental divide one side of the hills flows to Hudson Bay the other side flows to Mexico, cold chicken picnics, BC cherries, Sandcastle Butte and the outlaw caves, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage Museum, a farewell dinner at Eastside Mario’s in Regina with a decanter of Sangria ( vodka, wine, fresh berries and sparkling water.) It was enjoyable sharing these experiences with family.

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My sister Miriam, my niece Tanya and I in Grasslands National Park in Southern Saskatchewan. August 2 2017 12:45pm

My brother Dan and I at Oswalds Bear Ranch in Newberry MI. I am feeding the cub "Sassy" some strawberry jam! July 22 2017 4:57pm

Freewriting Exercise from the Song “Take it Easy” by the Eagles in 1977 By Ashley Wren

The road is long. It can be linear. It can be curvy. It can fork. The road represents “life” or a “journey”.

And every single day, we go through these “journeys”. And in the back of our heads, we hear the voices from people who barely understand what we are going through.

They keep resonating “take it easy” in our minds.

We meet people that are tendentious of how we are supposed to be treated. Mental health and sexual assault and being transgender are controversial issues that we are not supposed to discuss or they are labeled too “taboo” even in this day and age.

“Take it easy”, the voice yells in my head again.

I suddenly realize that the matrix of my existence is to be myself. That I don’t live for anyone. My core beliefs are sometimes getting in the way. But I know that it is not my fault that my programming is not the same as everybody else, and I am not that CYBORG from a year or two ago.

I envision my darling S. She reminds me so much of my grandmother. And I imagine on Saturday that she going to tell me to “Take it Easy”. At least she understands what I am going through.

And every time that I would finish a support group “Take it easy” is a common phrase. Sometimes with language, we either learn stuff or we brush it off. And nowadays, in the generation of technology, phrases lose their humanity because they are being overused.

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Today, I also envision a strong and agile Eagle swooping and soaring into the Grand Canyon skies. It lands and perches in one of the rocks and watches a herd of mustangs.

One of the mustangs approaches the Eagle. The mustang looks and addresses the pain and anger in the Eagle’s eyes.

The Eagle is overwhelmed, but the mustang is not empathetic. And in order not to show emotion and how it really feels, it drops the “Take it easy” phrase to the Eagle just like a bomb in Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

Not being understood in this world is hurtful. And yet, we, the survivors, do push ourselves to strive for the best and constantly tell ourselves that we are the ones that need to “Take it Easy”.

A Grand and Loyal Chief By Thomas Mood Night of the Grand River's course And lean-to's shelter in the shade of noon Of thought and entrance into Nature's And room for service to a new land Scheme of things on the trail where For the Original Natives of the Soil Destiny rules, and pageant of its To a time that has been forgotten Original knowledge, now hidden With only memories left to instill, In Nature's new source The will of the giant among men, And force only Nature knows And approachable Nature and loyal In its dream of the day, we have servant Been redeemed for, in all of its To the British, Joseph Brant, or freedom Thayendanegea, as his people called And the longing for foregoing him. knowledge Now with an endowment of respect As wisdom of the last vestiges To award a reward of loyalty from the Of the wind on the trail, British And origin's secret know-how, Of the noble savage's touch given a Now in beat to its sole knowledge of gift of land home All waters that flow into the Grand And loyal responder River Where this man gains the original title Watershed, fulfilling Brant's dream To the land, a plan for Nature's heart From the flow of Nature on the go.

To the British, Joseph Brant, or Thayendanegea, as his people called him.

The Carpenter By David Heddington

The plank of sugar maple felt heavy in his hand. It was tough to the touch as he ran his hand along its edge. He had three pieces and he could envision what he would create with them. He had decided that, put together they would make a quality table top.

He was in his shop, in his environment, and he had made his plan. The table top would be 36" x 36".

The maple board had beautiful grain, and he figured how he would join them together. But he was the carpenter and had years of experience. He started his project by running the edge of one of the boards through the jointer. He loved the smell of the freshly cut wood and continued as the dust stuck to the sweat on his arms.

He planned one face on each of the three pieces. He was pleased, and continued with his work.

He was now ready to join the pieces of maple together to form the table top. He gathered up his bar clamp and a bottle of glue.

The carpenter ran a band of glue along the cut edges, then smeared the glue with his finger so that it covered the entire edge.

He took the pieces of wood and sat them, cut face down, on the bar clamp, and using a rubber mallet, hammered the flat faces to the four bar clamps and then tightened them. They were now ready to be left for the glue to set.

He unclamped the table top and clamped it to his work bench. He then proceeded to scrape off the excess glue that had seeped out, with his scraper. Story continues on page 8

The carpenter then planed the rough side through the planer, then flipped it over and the planed the table top to a thickness of one inch. He then routed the edge to a nice profile.

The carpenter loved his powerful machines and the various sounds they made, even though he was wearing hearing protection headsets. The table saw, planer, jointer, cut off saw and band saw were quite loud.

The uneven end of the one side of the table top was cut flush, and then the top was cut to square. He now took his portable hand sander and began sanding the top. The sander vibrated in his hand and sent dust flying everywhere.

It was now complete and ready for finishing, once he attached it to the table legs that he would make next.

This carpenter was good with his hands, could make projects without plans. His work was pleasing to the eye and touch.

It was the end of the day, and a load of oak boards were being delivered. They would be ready to be molded into pieces of furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities.

To this carpenter, each day was a new beginning, ready to bring the various types of wood to life.

Solar Eclipse August 21, 2017 By Cathy Czuma

I went with two friends, Elizabeth Barr and Carolyn Thomson, to see the moon eclipse the sun on August 21, 2017 at Western University. That’s me in the middle, with Carolyn on my right and Elizabeth on my left. Also, check the photo of Elizabeth clowning around with the eclipse at the Engineering Building, where the NASA stream of the total eclipse in the US was shown.

Previously, outside on University College hill, we had seen the actual eclipse – through a pair of glasses, of course, provided by Western staff. If you don’t wear the glasses, you could burn your eyes looking directly at the sun. We only had one pair, which we were fortunate to get, as the line of people waiting to be handed glasses was quite long, but Carolyn persisted in asking the man giving them out, till he got fed up and gave her a pair. Yay Carolyn! We shared.

The hill was crowded, but everyone was eager and focused. We waited till 1:19 pm for the maximum point, then looked again, after which we headed for the engineering building. We had had our snack earlier at the UCC cafeteria. Drinks especially were much appreciated on this hot day.

It wasn’t a total eclipse, only two-thirds, but it was exciting nevertheless. The NASA stream showed the total eclipse in the US, as it made its way from west to east in an arc. I checked this out at home later on the internet. The photos of the total eclipse are spectacular. I also watched the people in different states experiencing the eclipse in their own way. I encourage you to take a look on YouTube.

All in all, it was a moving experience.

Dominion of Heart By Thomas Mood

As one to count on a Visibly dominant heart, Sally Was a predetermined success Performing every duty for her team With joy as one on the rise With a return to the basics And three singles of digital significance Accepted in all pure modesty And driven from the heart and home In open air, in quest for the Victor Cup, As a true sportswoman in root As part and rule of a unified gender And good enough to be counted As tops on this moment, with a consistent Touch of the bat, and advance to home-plate By returning to focus, where the knowledge Of all rules is understood In the woods nearby and in open night to take to the sky Where excellence of skill is open to Anyone who practices and who does not Take their advantage for granted, as Sally would never do, With all the honour of her heart, She never fails to follow through on.

Unity of Ball and Bat By Thomas Mood

David is right on to try and show his stuff, In baseball's links and niche in open air, With the sport of dreams to care for With lessons for those inclined With an attempt to open and challenge the rule Book, in open sky, as skies open to David's hits With renown at least in his own heart And very good on-base (%) percentage, a symbol of The warrior's presence, and sacred moves of the Silent arm of ball and bat, and/where the focus is Narrow and simple to follow With a joy to hold the bat game after game, Seldom missing a match Even if he is a silent partner on the team, in quest of The unity of winning and losing or interesting fun in David's eyes to try and compete in his own way, As rover or outfielder where dreams are made In this element and toss of the ball, and his attempt To make the grade, who has never truly lost In all images of the cross at heart.

Mood Walks During the Summer of 2017 By Carrie Vanderheyden.

Mood Walks has been a very exciting program for clients of CMHA to enjoy. As we continue to work on our mental health as individuals, we do also get opportunities to connect with each other as a group. Mood walks is an excellent opportunity to simply get out of the house, get a little exercise, become one with nature and even to learn a few things about Ontario forestry and preservation. It was certainly a great chance to open up our minds to the experience of places we had never seen. As we can all certainly struggle with our moods and other various issues, we are certainly very privileged to have had the opportunity to participate with the therapeutic quality of mood walks. CMHA really owes a lot of thanks to Thames Talbot Land Trust. I didn’t even know who this organization was until CMHA decided to partner with them for this project. The Thames Talbot Land Trust does a lot of work to preserve large pieces of land that they obtained either by donation or purchase or some other type of preservation agreement. Their goal is to make sure that many vital parts of beautiful nature in our area is properly cared for and preserved. They have some offices that are just behind the property of Parkwood Hospital. Many of us got to meet up for a registration in these old buildings that edge up onto an inner city walking trail here in London. Rebecca was the representative for Thames Valley Land Trust and she was able to explain a lot of great information about how their organization works. But, I missed a step. Mood walks has actually been happening in CMHA for about a year now. Every week on a Tuesday, a handful of participants have been meeting in various places in London to simply go for a walk. We mostly have Michelle Phillips, our fearless mental health leader and facilitator to thank for that. Sometimes the group would meet by the London Museum and walk from there through some bike trails. Other times the group meets by the Parkwood hospital to walk through the beautiful nature nearby. These walks have certainly fostered many friendships between clients. But let

Article continues on page 13 12 me tell you about the four beautiful walks we got to take onto the properties of the Thames Valley Land Trust. On Saturday September 19th, there were about twenty people who boarded a bus to leave on a journey to Wardsville Woods. I have never been to Wardsville but, I think the trip was around a half an hour away. The bus pulled over on the side of the road, and then there we were in this luscious beautiful woodsy area. There were birds migrating in the not so far distance. There must have been hundreds of thousands, no millions, of birds flying in a stream. We were amazed. When we stepped into the property, Rebecca took the time to explain a little about the area. She told us the names of some certain species of flowers and some other things. The property was so lush and beautiful. Everything was still slightly wet from the rainfall the day before. We were surrounded by Purple Aster flowers and White Aster flowers and Golden Rod. There were also different types of thistle like plants and tall grasses and really just so many types of foliage that I wouldn’t know how to describe them. There was a path for walking and some places were thick with mostly deciduous trees. Other places were more open like a meadow. We walked a hike that followed a hill for us to climb upwards. Just when you were running out of breath the path took us down again and circled us back in a loop. The whole area was breathtakingly beautiful. We stopped in a cleared out area where there were gardens that had been maintained for preserving the various types of plants and flowers. We were invited to help gather seeds of one type of flower and to plant seedlings of another type. We saw a massive black and yellow garden spider sitting on its web. We were amazed and took the chance to take photos. We also had a chance to rest and share a bag of apples and some granola bars. Everyone really seemed to love our visit to Wardsville. On October 3rd we took a bus trip out to Port Stanley to see Hawk’s Cliff Woods. I had never been there before and again we had Rebecca to be our guide to this luscious natural paradise. There was an area that was fenced off normally to the regular public but, of course Rebecca took us past the gate to show us the wonderful landscape. We collected berries and also marvelled to see so many more types of rare like foliage. One part had such beautiful feathery plumes that one of our mental health workers, Holly, had decided to sit right down and let others go ahead while she absorbed the magical feeling of being there. On October 17th our group took a bus ride to Five Points Forest which is just outside of Putnam and near Ingersoll. Another hike would help us discover many different types of trees for the whole area was very woodsy indeed. We were lucky to get a little bit of instruction as to which types of trees were traditionally used to what purpose. We had some great photo opportunities in some very scenic spots.

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The day was beautiful and fall was making itself known in the coolness of the air but altogether the day was great. The one little chore we were invited to try was to pull away the bunches of buckthorn stems that invasively take over the area. There were some people that really got into this. They just kept pulling all the buckthorn and couldn’t stop. I think they liked doing it because it was a bit of a challenge to do the work and it felt good to release a little physical exertion. The last bus trip was on November 7th. This was a trip to Joaney’s Woods out by Parkhill. I didn’t get the chance to go that day. But I did hear good things about it. Again there was so much beautiful nature to be seen. But this time the hike was much longer. Everyone said it was a nice long hike. It was a cool day with not much sun. But everyone sounded happy to have gotten lots of physical activity. How I wish I would have made it that day. It does sound like plenty of hiking was the theme for that day. I think the Mood Walks project was a great success. It is so wonderful that the clients of CMHA can have an activity such as this to unite with each other and to be outside enjoying nature’s bounty. There was much to be learned and so much to see. I think the best was simply having an opportunity to get out of the city and really enjoy a great day and to do so with the company of friends. So many of us struggle at times with simply getting out of the house or with feeling good about ourselves and an opportunity to walk and talk and engage with each other and with nature is a wonderful way to lift our spirits and our mood. Mood walks has paused for the season of winter. Will you join us when we get together again in the spring?

Doggy Dress-Up By Cathy Czuma

Marcie was tidying up the house, getting rid of dust and clutter. She let the sunshine in, opening the curtains wide after she'd watered the plants. I basked in the sun, lying on my rug in front of her chair where I was always welcome. My name is Charlie, and I'm a beautiful orange Pomeranian. Well, "beautiful" is what Marcie always calls me. I don't know about that, but I like it. What I don't like, is the leash. It reminds me I'm property. I think about these things sometimes, and I know I shouldn't, because it doesn’t get me anywhere, but there it is. I'm a political animal. Dogs like to think of status. Generally, we like order and hierarchy, but I like equality and democracy. I'd like to walk as an equal with Marcie, and run off and come back when I want to. Fortunately, we have an off-leash park nearby, although time spent there is too short. I've been alone without canine company too long, and I know there's a dog next door, a female poodle I've seen a few times. I'm dying to meet her. I wonder how she feels about leashes, and about Halloween, which has always been a sticking point with me. Marcie dresses me up. It's humiliating, to say the least. Oh, here's the poodle now! Just as Marcie is closing the door to our apartment, with me on the leash, setting off for our walk, they (she and a young man) come out through their door. We all greet each other amiably, and go down together on the elevator. We live on the 10th floor. Marcie and I live a rather quiet and lazy life punctuated by her social work job, the occasional guest, and our walks, and a yearly holiday. It would be really nice to get to know our neighbors. The white, curly haired poodle's name is Rita, and her young man, Sam, works for PR and likes to hold parties. I introduce myself, and tell her a little bit about my life. We head for the park, and leashes are taken off. We run around with the other dogs, then we have a discussion, which turns us to the topic of Halloween. I tell her about dress-up. Rita laughs, then tells me that last year she was dressed as an electron. She wore a headband with little balls attached on springs. Sam and his PR friends laughed at her all through their party.

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I wore a fairy outfit, I said. In the mirror, I saw myself in pink gauze and a wand. Ugh! "Oh, don't worry," said Rita, "I kind of admire Sam's creativity, I won best costume two years in a row." "Well, I admire your patience. I felt I’d been made into a toy." I replied. Rita said, "I try not to think of status. It makes me sad." I answered, "What if we were free? What would we be doing? We'd have to forage and hunt. We'd find a mate and have children. A very different lifestyle." And with that, we waxed philosophical. The humans were getting a long, so we left them to it and took off at a fast clip, running hard. This is how I feel best, I thought, unencumbered by leash or costume. It is good to have a friend. We gain by being looked after by humans, but we also lose a lot. Being made to wear a costume feels strange, and reminds us that we have an owner. It detracts from our sense of dog hood, makes us wonder who we are, although Rita has reminded me that I have such a thing as a sense of fun. All in all, the humans keep us safe. It's a scary world out there. A caring human offers us love and purpose, a companion. We dogs do love commands. Just keep them verbal, not theatrical.

Rock Glen Conservation Area: Summer Trip with CMHA Middlesex By Beatrice Steeper

We Went to the Rock Glen Conservation Area on July 26, 2017. It was such a nice day. There were 23 clients, one service dog, and 3 staff who went. When we got there we got to choose if we wanted to play mini putt or shuffle board. I choose mini putt, I found the last hole very difficult. At around noon we had lunch. The Conservation Area supplied each of us with a burger, chips, and a drink. After lunch we went for a long walk, there sure were many steps, in fact my phone reports that I walked over 11,000 steps (the goal is 6,000). Some people went into the water, including a couple of staff.

This too Shall Pass Crystal Ladd

And just remember this too shall pass Maybe like slow growing grass Try not to worry and just remember this too shall pass I know that life right now for you feels like a constant, giant, unrelenting huge pain in the ass Always looking at the glass as if the glass is not just half empty it is in fact a majorly broken glass Your stress just keeps accumulating itself into a metric ton in mass Your situations unrelentence and complete unwillingness to change has left you feeling simply aghast You are in such a foul mood that you just come across as rather crass Your tolerance is nil you cuss everyone out your intense body language as your deliverance of all your words are both just chalked full of sass The bill collectors call you so much they send you so much mail you feel that to you all they do is harass Always having to beg borrow and steal leaving you feeling like you may be on the verge of losing your self-respect and class Try not to worry and just remember this too shall pass

Campus Creative A Digital Creativity Work/Play Space By Cathy Czuma

I found Campus Creative when searching for meetups in London. It’s in a building that used to be St. Peter’s school on Richmond St beside St. Peter’s Cathedral at Dufferin. A tour of the premises (campus) was advertised, so a tour is what I was given by a nice young technically- minded man.

In this digital learning environment, the campus consists of a set of rooms on the first and second floor. On the first floor were people working at computers, presumably designing software programs. I was shown a 3D printer and some things that were made on it. They had made tiny figurines of the students who had come to learn at the summer computer camp.

Then I was shown the virtual reality room. You get a pair of viewing glasses that you’ve probably seen on TV, and press a button to start your program, a choice from a number of programs. The tour guide gave me some brief instructions, chose a program for me, and I was off. I was more than a little scared. However, I had to be brave.

I found myself in an elevator; the guide told me to press the green button; I did so, and on my left, I found myself way up high in a building looking down and facing a plank. I was told to walk out of the room, but I just couldn’t as I was afraid to fall. Next, the program switched and I was in the middle of a medieval village square with fruit sailing past me and the remote control in my hand became a sword. I put two and two together, and swung for the fruit, successfully slicing it, finally enjoying myself. After doing this a few more times, I stopped, and, having met two other participants on the tour, a woman artist and her husband, we all went upstairs.

There I was surprised to find us in a room full of tanks inside which were various reptiles. I felt sorry for them, and when the guy brought out a snake, I excused myself and left the room. However, the next room was better, as it was full of beautiful art work on the walls. This was a classroom for art students. We migrated after that to a lounge area that had a multitude of very comfortable beige lounge chairs in a circle. I longed to take one home. They have so many, surely I could have one?

Well, that was the end of my tour. I thanked our guide, talked awhile with the couple, and headed home. Not too many people know about this place, so I wanted to let you know this is available, as long as you contact them ahead of time before you visit.

Coffee Culture at 260 Dundas St By Beatrice Steeper Shane is the new manager and owner of the Coffee Cultures on Dundas St. It used to be the Swiss Chalet years ago. Shane and his wife met in New Market. They lived in Tennessee for ten years. Coffee Cultures is a fine friendly establishment which is family run. They welcome all people even those with special needs. The city of London has given them a grant so that they can accommodate people in wheel chairs. They use fresh produce and they make their own baked goods daily. What they do not sell they donate to The Ark Aid Mission. Their daughter is helping them with renovations. Shane also believes that the downtown needs to be revitalized and I agree with that. Their prices are reasonable just like if you go to McDonalds. Their busiest time is near noon and 3-9pm. His wife

usually handles the crowds. The Editorial Advisory Board of the Insight Newsletter meet at Coffee Cultures. Some of the customers report that they enjoy the rich colours used to decorate the coffee shop. Also, they report that they enjoy the comfortable seating. Shane has designed it as an old style coffee house where customers can make it a frequent destination for conversation and relaxation.

Skully By John Mackey He was created at the CMHA Art Group headed by Andrea. Originally

Skully started as mandala which I coloured in by markers to use alternate complementing colours as well as I could I put him in the Fair Art Exhibit and for only the second time in 12 years I didn’t win.

The CMHA Insight Newsletter would like to thank all of its committee participants and contributors:

Linda Black (EAB) Bea Steeper(EAB) Paul Krasna (EAB)

Moray Jarvis (EAB) Rob E. Whitman(EAB) Shelley Ballantyne (EAB Production) John Mackey (EAB) Tom Mood (EAB) Cathy Czuma (EAB)

Crystal Ladd Carrie Vanderheyden David Heddington

Ashley Wren

The CMHA Insight Newsletter is circulated within CMHA Middlesex Community Programs and throughout other program areas of CMHA Middlesex. It is a client driven initiative. Issues may be seen and read by CMHA clients, their families and friends as well as CMHA staff and the local mental health community. For submissions send to [email protected] or Queen's Ave Site: Holly 519-432-1607 ext. 290 or CMHA Exeter Site: Angela 519-235-0335 ext. 45. And in Strathroy please turn your submission into Laurie at 519-245-0120 ext. 242 or 241. 22