Tis the season: A Christmas Carol at Upper Canada Playhouse

IROQUOIS – The suicide rate in Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry and Prescott-Russell is twice the provincial average. That is the reason the local Canadian Mental Health Agency and people like Augusta Waddell, believe so strongly in the importance of mental health promotion in schools.

Waddell’s late son suffered from mental health issues and since his loss, Waddell has tirelessly worked toward improving mental health locally, by making the community more aware of the help and resources that are available. Also, she has been part of fundraising initiatives that have helped bring funds and awareness to programs that she believes are important to have locally. 

Joanne Ledoux-Moshonas, manager of mental health promotions with the local mental health agency, accepted a cheque November 1, from Augusta Waddell and Margaret Swerdfeger, who organized a Halloween dance and silent auction fundraiser. The well-supported event raised $6,166.

“The event was great,” said Waddell.  “The support was amazing.” 

Swerdfeger, said that the silent auction featured some wonderful items, generously donated by both individuals and business, not only locally but from across the region. 

“People were very supportive of the auction, but what was remarkable, was that people who came to the event and supported the auction, often just wrote a cheque to donate to the cause too,” said Swerdfeger. “People are just so generous.”

Ledoux-Moshonas was overwhelmed by the amount of money raised through this one time event. 

The CMHA’s Mental Health Promotion in Schools program is not at all supported through government funding, so all of the funds that make this program which costs about $175,000 to operate annually, comes through fundraising and donations.

Mental Health Promotion in Schools is a program that the CMHA strives to take to every school, especially intermediate and high schools. 

The five day program works on day one to dispel myths, teaches about the various disorders on day two and day three focuses on suicide prevention. 

“That is an important focus,” said Ledoux-Moshonas, adding that the suicide rate in this area is twice that of the provincial average. 

Day four educates students on stress management and the supports that are available to help and day five features a guest speaker who shares a personal experience with mental illness.

The CMHA works in the schools to try and alleviate some of the stigma surrounding mental health. Stigma continues to be a huge problem for people living with mental illness. 

This stigma can hinder those with mental illness and their families from reaching out for the help they need.

Waddell sees this stigma as a barrier for the family support group sessions that she has organized to take place once a month in Iroquois. While people will stop her on the street for a chat, she still has yet to have people come to the family support group sessions. 

“People want to talk, but they won’t come, because they are embarrassed. Often they are frustrated by the system, and if they would come out, we could share our experiences and help. Talking about it makes life easier,” said Waddell. 

She will continue to be at the Iroquois Civic Centre at 6 p.m., the third Tuesday of every month, for anyone who needs the family support group. Anyone interested or with questions can email Augusta directly at augusta.waddell@gmail.com

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Lesley Johansen knows how important fresh fruit and vegetables can be in any one’s diet. And she also understands that good, fresh produce can often be beyond the financial reach of many families in this area.

“About a year ago, while I was working at the House of Lazarus,” Lesley explained, “I was living in a cabin in Mountain. At the time, I found myself in a very tight financial situation where I needed to turn to the Dundas Food Bank. I realized then that Food Banks often don’t have fresh fruit and vegetables on hand.”

Three months ago a plan to help remedy this situation came to her.

“I thought, what if people who gardened planted an extra row in their vegetable gardens, then took what they raised in that row and donated this overflow to the Food Bank? Most gardeners end up with more vegetables than their families can use anyway, and often give this extra produce away. Why not give it to the Dundas Food Bank, or the House of Lazarus?” She contacted both organizations, and organizers are excited about her plan for “Gardening for Groceries,” and very willing to take in all the fresh produce she and the community can supply them.

Lesley would be the first to admit that she is just a novice gardener herself, but she has already started a garden plot in the backyard of her home, and intends, like many more seasoned gardeners, to get her plants in on the upcoming long weekend. She did research for her Gardening for Groceries project, and discovered many sites that provide advice and information for gardeners who would like to help provide healthy, fresh food alternatives to Food Bank clients.

Some local businesses have already donated tools, started plants and seeds for starter kits for Food Bank clients who might like to plant a vegetable garden themselves.

If this project takes off, Johansen has some long term goals in mind. “In the long term, I would like to set up a year-round facility to grow produce locally. I found an amazing company called Freight Farms which actually uses re-cycled transport trailers, which they turn into a hydroponic system, basically an indoor garden in a trailer. This system allows the production of leafy greens, in particular, which can be grown in a 4-7 week cycle, year round. It is totally suited to even our Canadian climate. Such a system already exists in Cornwall called Smart Greens, and they can hardly keep up with the interest.”

Knowing that fresh produce is often not available, or very expensive and outside the budgets of the working poor, Johansen is seeking help to put healthy food on all dinner tables in this area. She knows that Food Bank clients would appreciate food grown locally, by neighbours, rather than products trucked in from thousands of kilometres away. She hopes to make it as easy as possible for gardeners getting on board with her Gardening for Groceries project, to get their overflow produce to those who would most appreciate it.

“People can take their garden produce directly to the Food Bank. If they mention Gardening for Groceries, that food will be weighed and a record kept to gauge how the idea is catching on. I will also be personally arranging for once-a-week pickups, going around the community and gathering fruits and vegetables.”

Her phone number for pick-ups is 613-282-0660. People can also go to gardeningforgroceries@yahoo.ca to find out more about the project, or to make a donation, money which will then be spent in local food markets. Interested visitors can also check out www.facebook.com/GardeningForGroceries.

“The idea of this project is to help the people in our community,” Lesley Johansen said. “We hope to accommodate what is seasonal in our pick ups. And no donation of fresh produce is too big or too small for us. I will be glad to pick up any produce that people want to donate.” 

[…]

South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services will continue to  operate its marine rescue program.

The only municipal water rescue service offered between Prescott and Cornwall, South Dundas council had to decide whether or not to continue to offer the service.

The 1985 Zodiac used by the unit is no longer suitable for emergency services.

Council unanimously agreed that the service is an important one, that needs to continue, so they subsequently agreed to the purchase of a $30,000 replacement vessel. Not new, the replacement vessel is a 2001 630 Zodiac Hurricane. The larger size is more suitable for rescue purposes.

South Dundas’ water rescue program is a partnership with the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary which aids in training and deployment. The partnership with the Morrisburg station has been in place since the early 1980s.

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