Skip to content

Mental health organization celebrates new home

He started by attending the sharing circle, a session where others with similar experience shared whatever was on their minds. At first Jagessar did not share a lot, but listened to what others in the group had to say.
011014_JM_nisa1
NISA member Terry Pretz shows off a mixed media piece he created at the mental health organization. The Northern Initiative for Social Action celebrated its move to a new space in downtown Sudbury Tuesday. Photo by Jonathan Migneault.

He started by attending the sharing circle, a session where others with similar experience shared whatever was on their minds. 


At first Jagessar did not share a lot, but listened to what others in the group had to say.

He slowly came out of his shell and eventually opened up to the group.

“I made some new friends for the first time in a very long time,” he said.

He started to visit NISA outside of the sharing circle, and participated in some of the other programs the organization offers.

Those programs include a cooking class called Food is Mood, a wellness recovery program, and an artist's loft, where people are encouraged to express themselves with paintings and drawings.

“It had a huge impact on my life,” Jagessar said. “I'm a very different person than I was at the beginning of the year.”

Thanks to his experience at NISA, Jagessar said he found the courage to write and publish a science fiction novel called "The Last Man from Earth".

Jagessa shared his story Tuesday, when NISA celebrated its expansion into a new 9,000-square-foot space on Elgin Street, in downtown Sudbury.

“It's been a bumpy road,” said Shana Calixte, NISA's executive director. “There were times when I thought it would never happen.”

The organization amalgamated two much smaller offices -- located at 105 Elm St. and 680 Kirkwood Dr. – to the larger space on Elgin.

Combined, both locations received around 45 visitors a day. Since the new space opened in early July, around 60 to 70 people have come to the centre every day.

NISA has 533 registered members in Greater Sudbury, and employs people who have lived experiences with mental illness to help those members.

Terry Pretz has been a NISA member for 11 years, and said the organizaton helped him break free of a severe video game addiction.

“It's like the old show 'Cheers', where you feel like you're welcomed,” Pretz said.

Pretz said NISA gave him a chance to express himself through his visual art. He also learned valuable work skills through a program that taught him how to build and refurbish computers.

Louise Paquette, CEO of the North East Local Health Integration Network, which funds NISA, said the organization plays a vital role in Sudbury's mental health system.

The peer support network, she said, helps keep people out of the emergency department unless they really need that service.

NISA helps provide the right care, at the right time and the right place, Paquette said.
 


Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.




Jonathan Migneault

About the Author: Jonathan Migneault

Read more