Inspiring week

A letter to the editor published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

National Mental Health Week just ended and my spirits have not only been boosted, they have catapulted. What a week! There was so much going on that I could not attend everything.

There were three highlights for me: the Inspiring Lives Awards and Dinner (www.mentalhealthns.ca) in honour of those heroes living with mental illness who have shared their stories of struggle and humbly received accolades for living well; the official launch of www.OurHealthyMinds.com, a new website offering good information on mental health; and the Nova Scotia Schizophrenia Society’s incredibly successful walkathon (www.ssns.ca).

While Nova Scotia’s mental health care system is still an ailing soul, there is no doubt in my mind that the grassroots organizations and some very special people both within and without the mental health care system know what is needed. There is hope in the air, finally.

On a very personal note, some of the movement forward has touched my own family profoundly. I am so grateful and, yes, recovery is definitely possible. There is so much worth doing.

Sheila Morrison, Halifax