CHRONICLE 15-16 ISSUE 14

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24 The Chronicle March 21 - 27, 2017 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Campus Equality needed in politics Euvilla Thomas The Chronicle The death of councillor and former mayor of Oshawa, Nancy Diamond, was met with sadness. She was a philanthropist, an activist and instrumental in her community. “To understand Nancy’s passing, you need to understand how she lived, and her passion for her community and family,” says the current mayor of Oshawa, John Henry, who describes her as a passionate woman. Diamond was one of few women able to stand the test of time in the political field, not only in Durham Region but across Canada. She was the longest serving mayor in Oshawa, and was in politics for about two decades. But she is not alone. Durham Region has seen a number of women in political roles, including Amy McQuaid-England, Christine Elliott, Celina Caesar-Chavannes and Jennifer French. But they are not representative of women in politics in general. Over the years, Canada has seen more female politicians, but that number has not increased by a wide margin. In the 2010 municipal election in Toronto, 15 females won seats out of the 45 available. Today, in 2017, women still only make 25 per cent of the political arena in Durham Region. That’s partly because female politicians are often treated more harshly than their male counterparts, says Alyson King, a political science professor at UOIT. King says things need to change. Photograph courtesy of DurhamRegion.com The late former mayor of Oshawa Nancy Diamond. Homeless problem bigger than you think “Women are being attacked, so whether you are a Liberal, a Conservative or NDP, women seem to be under attack for being outspoken and stating their political views, and the attacks are different from what men experience,” she says. According to King, men are attacked on what they say and do, but women are criticized personally, and the type of violence that’s threatened against them is often sexual in nature. This kind of things has been going on for years and it is a much more virulent attack, says King. Looking back on the history of female politicians, Agnes MacPhail from Ontario was the first woman to be elected to the House of Commons in 1919. In 1921, Mary Ellen Smith was elected as the first female cabinet minister in the province of British Columbia. From 1919 to now, we have seen more female politicians, but not much has changed says King, even though it might be better than 50 years ago. “You would think that women would have broken that glass ceiling. Even in Canada, where life is pretty good, we are still fighting that fight for real equality for women,” she says. According to King, women too often have to take on the male persona to make it in politics. “For women to survive in that kind of environment, they have to become like men in a way, and we have a history of this, if you think back to when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of Britain,” she says. Thatcher was known to have ruled as a ‘man’ would. King says she is saddened and Toritse Ikomi is the VP of equity in the SA’s office. Photograph by Euvilla Thomas disappointed that women are still fighting the same fight in 2017. She says until changes are made, some women are not going to want to become part of this field. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the first prime minster to have a gender balanced cabinet. King hopes to see Canada elect its own female prime minister one day. Mayor John Henry also hopes for a better future for women so his daughters can have equal opportunities as men would when it comes to politics. “I have two daughters so I hope the world have changed. I hope the days of old where people weren’t given equal opportunities are gone, especially in this country, Canada,” he says. But for now he just misses his friend, Nancy Diamond. “Every time I see a reddish convertible going down the road, I will think about Nancy,” he says. Euvilla Thomas and Laura Metcalfe The Chronicle Four walls, a warm bed, and food on the table. This might be the norm for many, but for June Maillet this luxury was almost unattainable in 1990. At 14, she was homeless, kicked out of the house and on her own. “It’s a little scary,” says Maillet. “My typical day would just be wandering. To be honest, I did a lot of walking, trying to find where my next meal was going to be.” Now 41, she has moved on. She’s now a to being a mom to three kids but will never forget some of the low points of her life. Though her experience might be sad and tragic, especially for a young woman, Maillet is not unique. She is one of hundreds of young people who have been homeless in Durham Region – then and now. The Homeless Hub, a website that shares data and research on homelessness, shows there are more than 700 people dealing with homelessness in the area right now. There is a desperate need for beds and emergency shelters locally. According to a report by the Region of Durham, there has been an increase in the use of emergency shelters in recent years. The length of stay has increased from 20 days in 2012 to 35 days in 2013. There are three emergency shelters in the Durham Region, and combined they make up to about 93 beds in total. More beds may help get more young people off the streets, a situation which would have helped Maillet a great deal. “I was sleeping in a park one night and got picked up by two men and they were like ‘We can’t just leave you here,’ so they took me back to their place and that wasn’t too safe for me but I didn’t know what else to do, I was young,” says Maillet, thinking back to those days when she was out on the streets with not even a bed to lay her head on. But some emergency shelters, such as Cornerstone says the number of beds available now has risen significantly from when it opened 50 years ago. “We started with a house of six beds, right now we are at 40 beds,” says managing director of Cornerstone, Robert Brglez. The Cornerstone Community Association Durham is an emergency shelter in Oshawa that serves men for a period of time. Brglez said the shelter is not a place to stay but a place to transition with help toward a better opportunity. People get help finding new job opportunities and affordable housing. “Shelters need to lead to something else,” he says. He said the homeless situation is different in Oshawa than Toronto. Here the homeless people are most often not on the streets, a problem which Brglez has coined the “hidden homeless.” According to a report by Human Resources and Social Development Canada, households are spending more than half of their income on rent. At the same time, another report from the region shows the unemployment rate in the Durham Region at about 7.8 percent. On top of this, homeless people often also face mental health issues. “Mental health is a contributing factor to homelessness,” says Sarah Johnson, shelter manager at Cornerstone. She says 50 to 60 per cent of the people using homeless services have self-disclosed mental health issues. And Maillet is no exception. “I’ve been told I have come a long Photograph by Laura Metcalfe Cornerstone Community Association Durham shelter director Robert Brglez and manager Sarah Johnson pose in front of their mission statement. way. I’m bipolar,” she says. She says she was also a drug addict but this is not a part of her life anymore. There are many others like her out there waiting for that lifechanging moment. Maillet says she didn’t have any parental guidance at the time but she’s now at a more stable period in her life. She is a peer support worker at the Canadian Mental Health Association and living at home with her husband and family. Today, she is optimistic of the future. “I’m working at getting myself on my feet and growing as person,” she says.
Community chronicle.durhamcollege.ca March 21 - 27, 2017 The Chronicle 25 Mental illness is not forever (Editor’s Note: The individual profiled in this story initially agreed to give her full name to The Chronicle but just prior to publication asked if we could protect her anonymity. The Chronicle has agreed to do that and is now referring to the individual as Jennifer.) Rebecca Calzavara The Chronicle Jennifer’s biological father was abusive. Her mother separated from her father when she was 7 so that she and her sister didn’t grow up to hate him. When Jennifer was 16, she was rebellious towards her mother and her stepfather. She felt her mother gave his kids more attention. She felt neglected. It came to a point when Jennifer gained so much anger and aggression towards men in her life that she hit her stepfather and ran away. She moved in with her father at 16. He convinced her he had changed… but he was worse. She felt like a prisoner in his home. According to the Durham Region Health Department, there are certain times in our lives when our mental health may be more vulnerable. These times are known as “transitions” or a “life event.” Transitions include graduating school, moving out or even getting pregnant. Life events include experiencing loss, death of a loved one or experiencing/witnessing abuse. Mental illness is defined as a wide range of mental health conditions that affect your mood, thinking and behaviour. According to DepressionHurt.ca, about 1 in 10 Canadians will experience an episode of major depressive disorder during their life time. Depression is a widespread medical condition. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, anxiety disorder affects about 12 per cent of Canadians. There is a wide range of mental illnesses. Adults are susceptible to some and children are susceptible to others. For adults, some illnesses include but are not limited to anxiety disorder, depression, eating disorder, bipolar disorder and panic disorder. For children, some illnesses include autism, reading disorder, stuttering and many more. After moving back, Jennifer developed panic attacks because of her father. She would hyperventilate. Her body would go instantly numb and tingly. She would go unconscious and wake up on her bedroom floor with the door locked and no way out. Jennifer needed help but didn’t know where to turn. Megan Van Massenhoven is the Outreach Coordinator for Good- 2Talk, which is a help line for post secondary students. The 24/7 helpline also accepts calls from anyone who calls with a problem. Van Massenhoven says Thursdays and Fridays between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. are the most common times for people to call for some guidance or help. “We offer professional counselling on the line, it is completely Chronicle cartoonist Toby VanWeston depicts the emotions surrounding anxiety and depression. anonymous,” Van Massenhoven explains. Good2Talk was created in 2013 in response to a ‘mental health crisis’ on campuses. According to MacLean’s, in 2012 Ryerson University in Toronto saw a 200 per cent increase in demand from students in crisis situations. Good2Talk was created to help any student in a crisis situation on campus. Since it started four years ago, they have had a total of 60,000 calls to-date. Good2Talk would have helped Jennifer. “Really I was suffering and rotting on the inside and nobody understood. Nobody listened to my cry for help. It was affecting my health. I was scared and so alone,” Jennifer explains. Last year, a Canadian Reference Group study was done on students to see what factors affected post-secondary students: 42.2 per cent of students said stress affects their studies, 32.5 per cent of students said it is anxiety and 20.9 per cent of students said depression. There are many ways to help with anxiety, depression and stress. Margaret Wehrenberg’s book The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques, describes 10 techniques to help with anxiety. The number one technique is to change your intake. Your body has to process whatever you take in. Changing intake includes stopping alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, sugar and sweeteners. “Taking charge of the things that make your body anxious is not always easy, but it is always productive,” Wehrenberg writes. Other techniques are as simple as breathing, practicing mindfulness and relaxing or as hard as containing your worries, talking yourself into changing behaviour and stopping anxious thoughts. Taking charge of your body can be difficult, according to Wehrenberg. Some people choose avoidance and some flee, like Jennifer. After living with her father for a couple of years, Jennifer ran away. But this time, to live with a boyfriend. His name was Trevor. His family took her in and loved her like one of their own. It was exactly what she wanted. Trevor found a job on an oil rig making really good money. They were well-off. Until he got laid off. He went off the deep end, became an alcoholic and took whatever pill he could get his hands on. Months later he hit rock bottom. He drove his brand new car off a cliff, drinking and driving. “My first instinct was to run, so I did. That’s what I do when ever things get dark…I run,” Jennifer says. Wendy Stanyon, Faculty of Heath Sciences at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), gives insight into how someone can cope with a mental illness. She explains anxiety and depression are like the chicken and the egg; anxiety turns into depression at some point. Jennifer, now 18, is at the airport with $100 in her pocket with her whole life jam packed in one suit case. She is on her way to Alberta. It is December 24th. Another Christmas alone. “I moved here because no one could hurt me in a place where no one knew me,” Jennifer says. But Jennifer didn’t need isolation. She needed help. Stanyon explains you don’t need to be an expert to be able to help someone with anxiety or depression. “Can you just listen? Not with the intent of responding. Just to listen to hear the message,” Stanyon says. That’s what Jennifer needed. But she felt she wasn’t good enough. “I know it sounds like a pity party,” Jennifer explains, “…my self esteem was taken from me because of my father.” Jennifer got a job in Alberta and made a lot of friends but at the end of the day she would cry herself to sleep because she still felt like she was in a dark cold place. She felt unwanted. Ugly. That no one truly cared about her. Jennifer started to develop depression. Started getting suicidal thoughts. As soon as those thoughts happened, her depression got a million times worse. Stanyon says when she started at UOIT in 2003, no one would talk about mental illness, but now people are much more open. Stanyon is trying to raise awareness about mental illness with mindfulness strategies. “Mindfulness is what could eventually save the world as we move forward,” Stanyon explains. Jennifer did not use mindfulness. She confined herself in her room and looked at four walls for days. She searched on the Internet for “the quickest way to die”. “This mental illness is like having a monster in your brain that makes you think life isn’t worth it and that you’re just simply worthless,” Jennifer says. One night, Jennifer drank two bottles of wine. She started to get flashbacks of what happened to her. She started to blame herself for everything. Started telling herself that it was her fault. She hated herself so much that night that… she overdosed. She was on life support for two weeks. Despite the new friends she Cartoon by Toby VanWeston had made, no one came to visit. Stanyon says our thoughts get the better of us. “Some days are going to be bad days. It doesn’t have to mean it’s going to go on forever and ever. Just take care of yourself that day,” Stanyon explains. Sometimes that can be hard. “I just wanted to scream.” Jennifer says. “I was so mad that I woke up to the same emptiness and sadness in my heart. It felt like I needed to vomit but I didn’t have a mouth. My heart was in my throat.” Those two weeks in the hospital were lonely. Jennifer almost passed away twice because of heart failure. “It made me realize that there was no good in living in the past,” Jennifer explains. Walking out of that hospital, Jennifer felt reborn again. Today, Jennifer is grateful she defeated the great darkness and horror of depression. She now understands and notices cries for help. “We need to help people to know how to manage the messiness of life,” Stanyon explains. Mental illness isn’t forever. There are so many ways to find help. “I know the agonizing isolation feeling, the feeling of being chained under water and having the key, but keeping it in my pocket. The feeling of never seeing sunshine and accepting to live in the rain. Learning to live in hell because you can’t get out of it. The feeling of being embarrassed with myself and having so much self hate. The feeling of not being able to sleep and having to live with myself longer instead of being in a dream where reality doesn’t exist,” Jennifer says. “People should never have the feeling of guilt for being born into this world. We all matter. Listen for someone’s cry for help.”
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CHRONICLE 15-16 ISSUE 14

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