“He’s a big ball of positivity so when I called to tell him he’d been nominated for a Heart Award, he was very excited,” says Katrina Witschel, a mental health worker with Island Health’s Mental Health and Substance Use (MHSU) Lasting Homes residential program. Witschel is referring to Chad, one of her clients.
Witschel nominated Chad for a MHSU Heart Award based on his move from a supportive housing space into independent living, as well as the launch of his own web development business.
“The Heart Awards is such a great event,” says Chad. “It’s really special to be recognized for having done so well and improved so much in my health and wellness.”
年度奖项认可并庆祝受精神健康和药物使用挑战影响的人们的复苏：健康，独立生活，个人成长和社区联系。
“Chad has come so far in the time that I’ve known him,” marvels Witschel. “I felt like he deserved this award because of all of the active steps he took in his recovery –now he’s living independently and running his own business. It’s awesome!”
Chad was one of 55 Island Health MHSU clients and community partners, including the Victoria Police Department, nominated for a 2019 Heart Award. The awards, originally handed out between 2006 and 2015, were revived in 2018 thanks to the collaborative efforts of staff from across Island Health’s MHSU program.
“Everyone’s recovery is very much an individual process and the Heart Awards is an event that celebrates that,” says Nicola Mark, an occupational therapist with the MHSU residential program. “It’s so easy for those of us working in the MHSU community to get caught up in our daily routines and forget about the significance of highlighting our clients’ many achievements and milestones.”
“The room was filled with people who are getting better, as well as those helping and volunteering. And so many smiling faces!” says Chad.
尼古拉·马克（Nicola Mark）说：“看到我们这么多员工，领导力，客户和社区参加会议是对我们许多应得的奖励获得者的大力支持。”“这是一个尊重，关怀的迹象，并真正体现了我们所有人所努力的价值观。”
Corey Maruca，岛上的Mbeplay全站AppHSU同伴支持人员在颁奖典礼之夜戴了多个帽子。马卢卡（Maruca）是有经验的人 - 在他的二十多岁的精神分裂症和抑郁症中被诊断出，他在这两种情况下都挣扎了六年。Maruca不仅帮助组织了心脏奖项并担任主题演讲者，而且还因在MHSU社区的敬业工作而获得了大心脏奖提名。
“I’ve been working with Island Health for eight years so to get recognition for all that hard work was really special for me,” he says. “As a peer, a person with lived experience, and also that champion and that voice for my clients, I’m able to tell them that I’ve recovered from my illnesses and they can too. Receiving the Big Heart Award was such an honour and it’s a reminder of why my colleagues and I do this work.”
For Corey, the road to recovery all those years ago started with simple steps - getting up in the morning, doing his laundry, calling a friend, rediscovering his love of painting and trying to remember all the things about himself that he cherished. He reminds those living with mental health and substance use challenges to take it one day at a time.
“A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step,” he says. “Recovery takes a long time and it’s something you must be an active participant in. It takes time to heal.”