CORNWALL & DISTRICT FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP
COVID had a chilling impact on local families with a loved one struggling with mental health challenges. Like everything else, the monthly peer support meetings held by the Cornwall & District Family Support Group (CDFSG) were locked down. Naturally, the CDFSG took their meetings online, and many members followed. However, many more fell through the cracks. Uncomfortable with the new technology or lacking the equipment or privacy to take part in virtual meetings, they had to go it alone through the pandemic.
The good news though, is that face-to-face family support meetings in Cornwall are finally available once again. The groups will be facilitated by the newest member of the CDFSG volunteer team: Jill Hodgson. Formerly the family lead at the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) – and a family caregiver herself) – Jill has extensive experience organizing peer support groups and courses. “By sharing our ups and downs and taking strength from each other, we all learn how to better cope with the ‘roller coaster’ of mental illness,” says Hodgson. “
The Cornwall & District Family Support Group has been holding peer support groups for family caregivers in Cornwall and Glengarry for nearly twenty years. And, in the process, has helped hundreds of families from all across the region. The key message of the organization’s web site, ListenToFamilies.ca, is that families are NOT alone.
The meetings are open to all caregivers helping a relative or friend with a mental health or substance use challenge. They take place – on the third Thursday of the month from 6:00 – 7:30 pm – at the Cornwall Community Hospital’s Community Addictions & Mental Health Services building at 850 McConnell Avenue. In addition to providing meeting room space, the hospital also offers participants free parking.
Family caregivers with a loved one suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar, clinical depression, borderline personality disorder or other serious mental illnesses are invited to drop in to the next meeting, or visit the group’s website: www.ListenToFamilies.ca
For more information, please call James Joyce from the
Cornwall & District Family Support Group at 613-527-1201.
