Vigil brings together people with shared mental illness experiences
Jennifer Armstrong, left, and Lina Cannella in the courtyard outside the chapel at St. Joe’s West 5th Campus. After meeting at the candlelight vigil during Mental Illness Awareness Week seven years ago, they’re encouraging others to attend this year’s event and make connections of their own.
It’s odd and a little terrifying that you can feel lonely in Hamilton, a city of more than half a million people. And that’s how Lina Cannella felt about seven years ago as she walked the halls of what she calls the “old hospital” – St. Joseph’s West 5th Campus before it was completely reimagined in 2013 with the building of a new facility.
Cannella, a person with lived experience of a mental illness, is not entirely sure where she read about an upcoming candlelight vigil. She was feeling lost at the time, but she thinks it was on a bulletin board. St. Joe's West 5th Campus has marked the start of Mental Illness Awareness Week each October, for the past 14 years, with a candlelight vigil.
“It was an opportunity to be with others, to get out of my isolation and my loneliness,” Cannella said. So she decided to attend.
She stepped into the courtyard for the evening ceremony feeling a mountain of worry. Cannella didn’t have a job, didn’t know how she was going to pay her bills and didn’t feel connected to family and friends, although she often thought about them. She thought about her cousin who died by suicide, her father who had recently passed away and others she knew who had struggles of their own.
Looking around, people were lighting candles for loved ones, so she did the same. Cannella lit a candle for her father and said his name.
“It wasn’t silly. It was part of being there, being accepted, being a part of something and not feeling odd. I felt welcomed,” she added. That’s also where she met Jennifer Armstrong.
That wasn’t Armstrong’s first vigil – she had participated in them before and at the time she was already in the peer advisory council, a group that comprises individuals with lived experience of mental illness who help other patients at St. Joe’s, that she now chairs.
“The vigil is almost a way to embrace all of us together, whether we’re there physically or not,” Armstrong said. That feeling of inclusion and acceptance is what resonated with Canella. She looked for more support and it was nice to receive it from people she could relate to, like Armstrong, who is open about her own struggles.
“I’ve suffered from mental illness myself, I’ve had depression,” Armstrong said. “I’ve been well for several years now and I have an interest in helping people work through their mental illness, if they can.”
With support, Cannella said she started feeling better and she, too, became a peer support provider three years ago.
If there’s one message the two women would like attendees of the candlelight vigil to walk away with it is this: “Hope.”
“There’s always hope. I think it has to be the one thing that’s kept me here. That tomorrow is going to be different,” Cannella said.
Cannella and Armstrong in the chapel at the West 5th campus.
They provide peer support for others struggling with mental illness.
In addition to the candlelight vigil and as a testament to the efforts the peer advisory council makes to continually match its services to people’s needs, an open forum is being held on October 4 – during Mental Illness Awareness Week – for inpatients and outpatients of St. Joe’s Mental Health and Addiction Program. It’s an opportunity for peer council members to listen to feedback directly from the people it serves.
When it comes to the timing of the open forum, Armstrong said that although people struggle with mental illness year-round, it’s helpful to have one week where the focus is greater in an effort to connect with people.
“It helps them realize they’re not alone, that there are other people out there suffering from similar illnesses. As peers they can talk to each other and they can go to peer services to talk to someone.”
While it’s normal to have feelings of loneliness, Armstrong and Cannella are working hard to reach people feeling this way.
“There are people out in the world who can give them hope and reassure them that they can get better,” Armstrong said.
More about Mental Illness Awareness Week Events at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s West 5th Campus:
- The Little Pieces of Light Candlelight Vigil is open to the public. The event, which kicks off Mental Illness Awareness Week is on Oct. 2, at 6 p.m., at the West 5th Schizophrenia Courtyard. It’ll feature speakers, music and refreshments. It's organized by the Peer Advisory Council and Spiritual Care Department.
- Click here to learn more about St. Joe’s Patient and Family Collaborative Support Services.
- The Peer Support Group Open Forum is for patients and loved ones. It's scheduled for Oct. 4, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Galleria, West 5th Campus.
If you, or a loved one is seeking help or support, call/click the resources below:
Youth Wellness Centre
905-522-1155 ext. 31725
COAST (Crisis Outreach and Support Team)
905-972-8338
Barrett Centre
905-529-7878
Contact Hamilton
905-570-8888
Salvation Army Suicide Crisis Line
905-522-1477
Telecare Burlington
905-681-1488
Distress Centre of Hamilton
905-525-8611
Kids Help Phone
1-800-668-6868
Suicide Prevention Community Council of Hamilton
spcch.org
Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention
suicideprevention.ca
Are You in Crisis?
Help is available. If you are in Hamilton:
- Go to the Emergency Department at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton Charlton Campus and tell the doctor if you are having thoughts of suicide.
- Call the Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST) at 905-972-8338 or online at www.coasthamilton.ca
- Call the Salvation Army Crisis Line at 1-855-294-HOPE or online at www.hopesalive.ca
- In an emergency, call 9-1-1.
Across Canada, you can find a crisis centre
Sharing Hope & Resiliency
Hopeline
Befrienders
There are many on-line websites with information and support about suicide prevention. The websites listed here can guide you to many more resources. Please note that these links are provided for information purposes only and St. Joe’s is not responsible for their content.