There is nothing more powerful than a true story.
And on May 11, a group of storytellers will gather on stage to share their true stories of mental illness recovery. They’ll be speaking from the heart, singing songs of courage, reciting their own poems and performing comedic routines that speak the truth.
The evening is presented by The Creative Centre Society for Mental Wellness and titled Tell Us Another Story — Recovery Stories That Inspire Change. There will be about 10 speakers on the stage throughout the evening, and music by the society’s band.
While this is a premier event for the Creative Centre Society, it will hardly be the first time most of the speakers have presented to the public. At the Cheamview Clubhouse, where members of the society gather formally and informally throughout the week, storytelling is a natural and easy way to help with healing.
Michael Smith has been coming to the clubhouse for years. He talks about the importance of “getting back to values” that he grew up with. He’s a comedian, and loves to do stand-up work. But in an interview he’s quiet and reflective.
“I may recite a poem I wrote,” he says. “I wrote it last Sunday at church.”
No matter whether the medium is comedy or poetry, the reason for doing it is the same.
“I need to tell my story,” he says.
Laughing and joking about a tough situation is as much a coping mechanism as it is a recovery tool, and there’s plenty of laughter within the Cheamview Clubhouse. Tell Us Another Story will include some laughter, but it’s also meant to help erase the stigma that surrounds mental health.
“Mental illness is one of those tough subjects,” says Rob Dueck, a mental health worker with the Creative Centre Society.
There are 79 active members of the clubhouse, and another 40 members who don’t engage as often. The clubhouse offers some fellowship and a chance to just be social. But they also have organized events, and can be a place for members to grab a meal, check email, make phone calls or just to get out of their own lives for a few hours.
Their event calendar is filled with fun items like Laugh or Die Comedy and Crocheting with Dustin, along with more clinical workshops like Intro to Psychology and Customized Employment.
Just being connected to a place like Cheamview Clubhouse can help someone with a mental illness find a way to wellness.
“I know not to isolate myself anymore,” Smith says.
Adrianne Roberts agrees. She has been on the path to recovery for just over three years now, and is learning how to help others.
Like Smith, she will be speaking at Tell Us Another Story. She also is a part of Connections, a group that goes out into the community to speak about mental wellness and tell others their stories. She has also been a TEDxChilliwack speaker.
“I talk about where I came from, and where I am now,” she says. Schizophrenia would take her “from one extreme to another.”
“In my psychosis I said a lot of things that weren’t true,” she says.
At her worst, Roberts was homeless for a few nights. Not wanting to be out on the streets she headed to Salt Spring Island. It was there she was led to a women’s shelter and began to feel welcomed.
She came back to Chilliwack, and connected with the Cheamview Clubhouse.
“I was still going through psychosis but everyone here was very welcoming,” she says. “I can be myself, and I’m learning about wellness tools, deep breathing, exercise.”
She’s also learned that being on medication is a “good thing” for her. When asked what she’d like others to know, who are struggling alone with mental illness, she thinks for a moment quietly.
“I’d want to give them hope,” she says. If she had found, and accepted, help sooner she says, “I would have saved myself a lot of grief.”
It’s a big step to go from wanting to hide away to standing on a stage, under the spotlight, speaking openly about such deeply personal issues. But telling her story is part of what keeps Roberts going.
Dueck smiles at Roberts.
“You show up all the time, whether you want to or not,” he tells her. “You’re so courageous.”
There is another level to the evening being planned, Dueck adds. A filmmaker will be documenting the evening for a film about the importance, and struggles, behind telling your story.
“I’m not sure what’s going to come of it, but we’re getting a fellow to film it,” he says. “He’s going to be doing a documentary about what it’s like to give your story, putting it out there in the public.”
Finally, he hopes that all of the stories of courage and strength inspire others who are struggling to survive their mental illness, and bring them along the path to wellness.
Tickets to Tell Us Another Story are $10 each. Doors open at 7 p.m. on May 11 and the show starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at the door, or on the Chilliwack Cultural Centre’s website.
http://www.chilliwackculturalcentre.ca/event/tell-us-another-story/#.WQdfJFPytcB
