I started my placement for the Professional Writing program just as the Covid-19 pandemic began. I had organized my placement at CAMH (The Centre for Mental Health and Addiction), which was at the top of my list of choices, and I was excited to begin. I had visited the office once, to meet with my Director and to meet the other staff on her team. On March 5th, I went to the early-morning launch of a new program at CAMH for women and mental health, called ‘womenmind’. Six days later, Covid-19 was declared a pandemic and we were all going into isolation at home. My placement was put on hold for a couple of weeks, but with insurance agreements signed, I was able to start working remotely from home.
As we know too well, this was a major change to life for everyone. We had to get accustomed to self-isolation and physical distancing, and in many cases, working from home. We were dealing with feelings of anxiety, isolation, loneliness, and the discomfort of a major change in routine. For some, there was job loss and serious financial uncertainty and fear. Some of us were trying to figure out how to share a workspace at home with our partners and children and trying to manage some scenario of homeschooling as well.
Front-line healthcare workers have certainly been dealing with enormous stress and trauma, with large numbers of people falling ill with Covid-19. Patients are having to stay isolated in hospital, their families unable to visit them, and sometimes dying alone. It’s a terrible burden for healthcare workers to deal with this level of illness and death, without all of the tools they need to alleviate suffering, and worried about their own health as well. They will be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the level of intense stress. The wave of mental health issues that arecoming for the average person and for people on the front lines is being referred to as the next pandemic.
The amazing thing for me was that, as we were entering this world of increased mental health concerns and crises, I was going to work for CAMH, who were experts in supporting people around exactly these issues: anxiety, depression, isolation, and PTSD. They were in the process of increasing their development and distribution of resources, and saying ‘how can we help?’ I would be supporting the CAMH Foundation, an inspirational and positive team of people raising critical funds to support the important work of CAMH.
It feels incredible to be a part of the CAMH Foundation team right now, as though I’m in exactly the right place. Not only because the work is so valuable to society, but because the team is amazing as well. They are such an amazing group of people, generous and thoughtful, and keen to change the world.
As part of my work, I’ve had the opportunity to outline social media content, including LinkedIn and Twitter posts for the executive team of the Foundation, the VPs of Marketing and Donor Experience, Philanthropy, and Corporate and Community Partnerships, respectively. I have also been mining news reports for quotes from Clinicians at CAMH to be used in future posts and content. I’m gaining valuable experience in social media content creation, and how to re-package and amplify content to maximize its impact. I am also writing the first draft of a Stewardship Report, to report back to a major corporate donor on the impact their donations have had on the work of CAMH.
At a time when I need more gratitude in my life, it feels almost perfect to be on a team where the largest part of the job is saying, ‘how can I help?’ and ‘thank you.’