By Patty Mintz

The first issue of a new monthly newsletter created for and by members of the local mental health community is hot off the presses and available to the public.

The second issue of “A Mental Health Perspective” – a project in association with the Kings branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) – will be ready by March 5.

Writers and publishers Melinda Cadarette, Tony Legere and Rick Merrill say their aim is to inform people about mental health issues by providing an insiders viewpoint.

All three have been diagnosed with some form of mental illness and, as a result, they know first-hand what it feels like to be stigmatized and shunned by society.

In an interview last week, Legere, 46, recalls his first bitter taste of public prejudice.

“I experienced stigma in the church I was involved in when I was developing schizophrenia. People started to tell me I was possessed by demons and spirits.”

After many hard times, Legere has learned to put a long-held passion for writing to good use. The next edition of “A Mental Health Perspective” carries articles he wrote on a local depression/anxiety self-help group and on Seasonal Affected Disorder, or SAD. He also developed the newsletter’s mission statement and, several years ago, The Regional Magazine published an article he wrote on his illness.

“I like writing about mental illness,” he says, “but I also like writing in general.”

Cadarette, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of Autism, says most people are greatly misinformed.

“Unless you have a mental illness or know someone,” it’s likely you have no clue about the realities.

The three hope their new publication will shed light on the topic, partly through the personal stories of people with mental illness, which will be included in each issue.

In February’s edition, for example, an article written by Nathan Young, a former area resident who now lives in Halifax, details his experiences with schizophrenia, from the point where the illness took away his spirit, ambition and drive to do even the simplest things in life to the more hopeful person he is today. At one point he writes, “I have returned to school, found meaningful employment and can see clearly, through relapse or remission, that there is hope for myself in becoming someone in society.”

A similar sense of optimism drives Legere, Cadarette and Merrill in their efforts to inspire faith, hope and courage through their publishing project.

Michelle Ferdinand, CMHA Kings County program manager, says after receiving funding for the project from Eastern Kings Memorial Health Foundation, she approached the three with confidence, not only because she was confident of their writing skills, but because of their experience and outlook.

“I gathered these three wonderful human beings together who I have worked with over the years because they had a really diverse background; each had a specialty. Tony loves to write, Rick has sat on all kinds of boards with me, Melinda is a talented editor, very exacting. All these things are key to getting a newsletter out.”

Melinda, a prolific writer of poems and stories who has computer know-how, says she found the idea intriguing.

“It was interesting. Basically, we’re trying to get people within the mental health community to get encouragement and support from our articles and stories.”

Merrill says the newsletter gives the mentally ill a chance to speak out on their own behalf and learn about options for recovery.

“We like to see more people getting reliable information on mental illness than is presented by the media. The stories very much distort the realities,” says Merrill.

The newsletter also carries current information about services and supports available to mental health consumers and their families.

Receiving the funding was the catalyst for this innovative project, says Ferdinand.

“We’ve applied for years for programs outside employment. (This time) we got it and you would not believe the things we’ve been able to do. Our board is so thrilled,” largely because funding for the mentally ill is traditionally so scant.

“Mentally ill folks have come into my office for years and indicated that because their disability is invisible, there is a lot less funding for mental health.”

Legere says that’s because “there’s a perception that mentally ill people don’t have a disability; they’re just bad people.”

Ferdinand points to the foreword of the federal government’s ‘Kirby Report’ on mental illness, which includes the following comment, excerpted from “More for the Mind”, a study of psychiatric services in Canada, in which the CMHA says: “In no other field, except perhaps leprosy, has there been as much confusion, misdirection and discrimination against the patient, as in mental illness….Mental illness, even today, is all too often considered a crime to be punished, a sin to be expiated, a possessing demon to be exorcized, a disgrace to be hushed up, a personality weakness to be deplored or a welfare problem to be handled as cheaply as possible.”

Working from the office of CMHA in Kentville, the small staff of “A Mental Health Perspective” say they recognize big problems can be beaten bit by bit.

“At least in our community we have this newsletter and we certainly hope people will take advantage of it,” says Cadarette.

Did you know?

Copies of “A Mental Health Perspective” can be found at various locations, including doctors’ offices, pharmacies, hospitals, and cafes, or by e-mailing: communityoutreach@cmhakings.ns.ca

Anyone interested in contributing an article to be considered for publication in the newsletter may e-mail any of the following: melicadar@yahoo.com; tglegere@gmail.com; rickmerril62@yahoo.com