Finding Light Together: My Path Through Caregiving and City Voices

For many years I was a caregiver for someone with severe trauma and mental illness. This was one of the most difficult periods of my life, not just helping my partner but because of all the roadblocks and discrimination she faced as we searched high and low for the help she needed. Acting as her advocate showed me firsthand how difficult the system was to navigate, and how the help that was available was often limited by waiting lists that were years long or that had been closed altogether. Not to mention the difficulty of managing prescription medications, or the potential complexity of switching from one medication to another. Navigating these things is difficult even if you don’t have mental health issues. And not everyone chooses to take medications; there are also questions of to what extent peace of mind can be found through meditation and spiritual practices. Thus I’ve known for years how important it is for peer support when faced with the types of challenges those struggling with mental illness, trauma, and addiction have. There are very few support groups like City Voices, and they’re greatly needed.

I was introduced to City Voices when I was invited to speak to the group and share a profound spiritual experience I’d had. My story is one that includes my own alcoholism, which thankfully I’ve been sober from since 2002. Because I had also been a caregiver for someone with mental health issues, they thought I’d be a good match to share my experience. What I really love about the group is its diversity. While it was created for people struggling with mental health and addiction issues, not everyone who attends identifies as that. Some are simply spiritual seekers. And the spiritual seekers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, religions, and practices. It’s a very welcoming and compassionate group that embraces the diversity of the human experience. I’m very grateful to have discovered it and been welcomed into it. It’s groups like this that help to remove stigma from mental illness, trauma, and addiction.

Years ago, when I was visiting my former partner in hospital, I overheard a psych nurse say to a patient, “Oh honey, we’re all insane, it’s just a matter of degrees.” So true. There’s not one of us who is better or worse than another. At our Soul level we’re all the same, each one of us a unique piece of the Creation. It’s my dream that the stigma, judgement, and discrimination currently faced by those with mental health challenges will eventually be a thing of the past. That all humans will treat one another with the dignity and respect we all deserve. It’s groups like City Voices that will help bring about that change.