FAME and Building Roots- Edible Allan Gardens Community Project

FAME is delighted to be a part of Building Roots’ Allan Edible Garden Project! We are excited to begin the growing process, and we are looking to put together a team of volunteers to help with our little plot in the garden! Gardening is an excellent way to get outside in the sunshine, get involved with the community, and on top of all that is very beneficial for your mental and physical health!

According to the research the mental health benefits of gardening include:

• Contributes to improved social interactions and community cohesion.

•  Reduces the occurrence of episodes of stress, and the severity of stress and associated depression.

•  Improves alertness, cognitive abilities and social skills.

• Alleviates symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, such as agitation and aggressive behavior, which can in turn improve circumstances for carers.

• Provides productive manual activity and beneficial social interaction for people tackling drug and alcohol dependency.

• Helps people manage the distress associated with mentally challenging circumstances.

-Davies, G., Devereaux, M., Lennartsson, M., Schmultz, U. & Williams, S. (2014). The benefits of gardening and food growing for health and wellbeing. Garden Organic and Sustain.

We started on Wednesday May 25^th with the planting, and now have a little herb garden with two kinds of basil (sweet and Thai), sage, dill and parsley. These little guys need lots of sunshine and fairly regular watering and upkeep, so we need volunteers!

If you’re interested in taking part in the community garden, or want to have input, please get in touch with us at the Toronto Central Office, either emailing kalynm@fameforfamilies.com, or calling 416-351-2751 . We would love volunteers this project, and any tips and tricks you have for a successful garden! 

                   

                                         

                                      

Framing our Perspectives

     Powerlessness, a feeling that is of near consensus when speaking of how mental health challenges are experienced. Caregivers and those with lived experience, at any given time can feel a sense of discouragement for a variety of reasons. Wait lists, lack of services, early discharge dates, narrow treatment options and common experience of feeling unheard are just some of the discouraging realities blocking families from receiving appropriate care and eventual stability. These are merely tipping points that exceed the social, racial, cultural, religious, political challenges that families may experience on a subjective level. As expressed by one client “It feels like scaling a mountain side that continues to grow. The closer we get to the top, the higher the peak seems to be. We never summit, we just always seem to climb.”

Rather poetically, such a metaphor describes beautifully such a common issue. One that is wrought with the additional challenges as illustrated. Confronting such feelings of vulnerability places caregivers in a situation of fragility, where all fears, anxieties and uncertainties are brought to the forefront of discussion. It is an experience shared by many, understood by few and viewed as being impossible to address. Such an emotional, social and psychological challenge calls for an approach that encompasses both realism and idealism. Just as in scaling the elevations of a mountain, balance is crucial.

There is no easy way to approach mental health challenges. Despite severity, everyone experiences stress, sadness, grief and anxiety. Only when there is an unbalance; biologically, socially and emotionally, do we see the formation of disorders and progressive detriment to ones’ psyche. Such taxing factors can be discouraging and are, both personally and publicly the root of many challenges faced by families and their loved ones. These are known factors, they in many cases are absolute experiences and with that become the primary focuses that impede families. Fixating on the stressors distracts of the overall goal.

Let It go.....

As previously posted last week was Mental Health Education Week here in Canada.  The week was long, hectic, non-stop and exhausting.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining here, I'm always grateful for all the opportunities we get to educate and to share with others about the community of mental health.

As the Director here at FAME, I'm not so connected to direct support services.  It is easy to close the door to my office and disconnect from the world and the families that we serve.  I turn to the paper trails, working hard to balance budgets, filling out report after report, scheduling staff and to make sure that the lights are on in all the sites we run.  Such is the life of the Director.

Yesterday, later in the day, I was sitting in my office, with the door shut.  The two FAMEkids Coordinators, Karen Naismith and Nicole Levy were hosting a FAMEkids support group. For those of you who don't know what FAMEkids is about, this is a very special program that supports children from 7 - 12 years of age who have a family member impacted by mental health challenges.  I could hear the occasional laugh or squeal from a kid down the hall.  Then it began....

What was that sound?  I stopped.  I began listening very quietly.  I cracked my door open just a bit. There it was.  I could clearly hear the voices of children singing.  I closed my eyes and listened even more intently.  "Let it go...let it go...."  There it was, the sweet voices of children singing the theme song from Frozen.  It was as if someone had blown a cool, soothing breeze of fresh air through my office.  In those few moments I realized it didn't matter that I wasn't a part of the boots on the ground team of delivering services because my job was to make sure that the resources are there to make these very special programs and very special moments happen.  It made all those long days sitting behind my desk, fretting over the paper work, fussing over funding, worth every single moment.

While I cannot share with you the faces of these children, I most certainly can share with you the lovely sounds I managed to capture on my phone.  So for every little voice that lifted me up yesterday, thank you so much. Turn up the volume and catch a cool breeze. #LetItGo  #KidsNeedHelpToo #FamiliesMatter #MentalHealthMatters #WeAreAcceptance #MHEW2016 #MHEW16 #FAMEkids

Mental Health Week 2016

It's Mental Health Week , and let's start off by taking a look around and noticing every person in your life who has been affected by Mental Illness.  I'm guess that's going to be each and every person you know, that has been touched by Mental Health in one way or another.  Let's be inclusive, let's advocate, let's support and let's learn.  Let us change the way Mental Health is seen in Canada.

Today Justin Trudeau released a statement for Mental Health week, and it can be read in its entirety HERE  

 “We all have a responsibility to raise our awareness about mental health. We must actively encourage honest and open conversations – in our homes, our workplaces, and our communities – about what mental health is and what we can do to increase our collective well-being. We must listen to our loved-ones, our colleagues, our friends, look out for signs and offer them support and advice in times of need. It can be a challenge for all of us to cope with the fast pace of life, daily stresses, and obligations. We all need to stand strong together."
-Justin Trudeau