Housing for the Mentally Ill

This year the Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) will be observed October 2 to 8. The theme for this year is “Housing for the mentally Ill”.

We will start it off with the Walk the World for Schizophrenia in Wolfville on Sunday October 2nd. Walkers will assemble in the Robie Tufts Park. They will register and hand in their donors collection sheets. At 2.00 pm they will be led from the park out to the Main Street and as far as the Willow Creek Park, turn around and come back to the Wolfville Lions Club Hall for refreshments. The leaders of the Walk will be Gary Long, the Town Crier of Canning. Donor collection sheets are available with Pat MacLean phone 678-8458.

Then during MIAW, there will be other events arranged by the CMHA, Beacon Program and the Evangeline Club on the Housing and Homelessness theme.

The week previous, on Thursday the 29^th of September 7.00 pm there will be a special information session at the Kentville Lions Club Hall. Claudette Bradshaw a noted activist regarding homelessness will be the speaker. Ms Bradshaw is the Director of the Moncton Research Project on Homelessness for the Mental Health Commission of Canada. In just a few months they have recruited 180 people to become project participants, with 96 finding homes. Ms. Bradshaw will share with us what they are doing in Moncton, with hints how we can do the same.

Roger Cann, Past President

Don't Pressure Myself

My Editor had a discussion  with me about my last blog entry.  She feels I am putting to much pressure on myself.  I have a lot of work responsibilities and I do a good job at fulfilling them.  I have a marriage relationship to maintain.  Kim and I do a lot of things together.  She said that when I put to much pressure on myself that causes too much stress and too much stress can cause my schizophrenia symptoms to flare up.  I came to the conclusion that she is correct.  I just need to fulfill all my responsibilities and just take things easy the rest of the time.  If I feel like writing an article for one of my blogs go ahead and if I don't just don't worry about it.  Outside all of my responsibilities just relax, take it easy and just have fun.  I have made the decision.  That's what I am going to do.

Getting Back On Track

I must confess that I haven't been doing very well lately.  Despite that I have still been fulfilling my work responsibilities.  I still go to work at flyer services every week.  I am still writing my articles for the CMHA Newsletter.  Outside of that I haven't been accomplishing much.  I haven't written anything for my blogs and web sites for quite some time.  Outside of work I haven't done much.

I have made the decision to get out of whatever I am going through and get back on track.  After I am finished writing this article I am going to sit down with pen and paper and start writing down all the things I would like to accomplish over the next year.  Draw up a plan with all the goals and objectives I want to work on and accomplish.  When I pass on from this life I want to leave behind a legacy of all the things I have done and accomplished in my life.  I want to get back on track and start doing a lot more writing for my blogs and web sites.  In fact I am seriously thinking about starting another web site on Weebly.  I haven't decided what subject to make it on yet.  I want to try something new and different.  I want to take on a new writing challenge.  Some day I want to become a successful paid published free lance writer but I need to decide what genre to write about.  I cannot write about mental illness, addiction, and alcoholism because there are not enough opportunities to get these subjects published.  To my knowledge there is only one magazine in North America that publishes anything on mental illness.

I want to choose a subject that will give me lots of opportunity for publication.  As a result of my OCD I am having trouble deciding on a genre to write about.  Once I choose my subject then I need to research it and develop a real good working knowledge on it.  Editors know if you know your subject or not.  If they think you don't know your subject they will not publish your work.  I have a lot of hard work ahead of me.  Lots of research and study and then lots of writing to do.

I believe that I am quite capable of achieving these goals and objectives.  I just need to be determined, motivated, and disciplined.  I just need to get back on track.  Wish me luck.