Rideau Hall, Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Thank you, thank you very much for joining David and me at Rideau Hall, the “home” of all Canadians.

This evening, creatively, we are all going to explore mental health together.

For every Canadian, a healthy mind is as important as a sound and vigorous body. Most people who consider themselves mentally fit have at some time in their life experienced a panic attack, irrational fear or unexplained sadness. 

For this reason, all of us here should have a visceral capacity—an openness of heart and mind—to understand, to feel in your gut, the effect mental illness could have on a person. Although, even then, we can only begin to imagine the horrific impact serious mental illness has on an individual.

We want you to leave here this evening with a sense of what a person must experience when life seems unbearable, relationships are destroyed and thoughts become uncontrolled; when calmness must be brought about through medication; when moods ride on a roller coaster, crowds are an insurmountable obstacle, a body is never clean enough, a newborn seems terrifying, or food becomes an enemy.

We use words to describe these types of mental illness: depression, schizophrenia, addiction, bipolar disease, anorexia, and many others.

We need you to raise awareness and to be advocates for those made vulnerable by mental illness.

How can we do this? Support a colleague at work, or in your neighbourhood, or any public place, and if you notice someone who is showing signs of ill mental health, do not recoil but think of something you can do to help that person.

We now have 45,000 mental health first aid workers in Canada. David and I are planning to take the mental health first aid course so that we have the capacity and know-how to de-escalate a problem.

Don’t be afraid to suggest to someone that they need help—in doing so, you may change a life, or even save someone from committing suicide.

Mental illness is not discriminatory. It can strike anyone, as it did one of Canada’s most acclaimed artists: William Kurelek.

You will be deeply moved by Kurelek’s art, which shows his isolation as he struggles with uncontrolled thoughts and fears. The joyful note is that his art passed from futility to faith, and eventually to family.

Melissa Bender is a visual artist and member of Workman Arts, which has been an integral part of this evening’s event.

Melissa expressed a simple truth about art and mental illness: “Show me a person with mental illness and I’ll show you a person with mental illness. Show me an artist with mental illness and I’ll show you an artist.”

What we need to do is bridge the gap; see those with mental illness as lawyers, mothers, bankers, entrepreneurs, fathers, educators and, yes, artists. When we look beyond mental illness, there is so much to be valued.

Before plunging into this creative evening, let me share Jilly’s story about the toolbox she  discovered in her brain. Jilly was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. She learned - with both love and support - that she had an amazing set of tools in her toolbox. She was friendly and sociable and liked by everyone in her class, making her a leader. She did not worry that she had a weak math tool.

David and I learned about toolboxes in London, Ontario from our fourteen year-old neighbour who had Downs syndrome.

Anthony, like Jilly, was highly sociable, polite, charming and witty. So we made him our Maître D’ at our social events.

He answered the door, took charge of ladies coats, made guests feel at ease, and at the end of the evening, served ice cream cones from a puppet stand with our five young daughters.

As an adult, Anthony found both work and love. Family and the neighbourhood showed him that he had great tools in his toolbox.

I’m asking you this evening to take the toolbox analogy and apply it to each and every person who suffers from mental illness. Look for their best tools and help them use them.

I want to end by thanking all of those who made this event possible, especially the artists. You inspire us with your courage, imagination and talent.