Courage 2007


Deborra Hope	Kevin Evans

The Ninth Annual
Courage To Come Back Awards
raised $706,339

A HUGE SUCCESS!

Coast Mental Health announced that the 2007 Courage To Come Back Awards event was the organization’s most successful ever. The April 19^th gala dinner, hosted by Deborra Hope and Kevin Evans, attracted 900 guests to honour six ordinary people who have overcome extraordinary challenges.

Raising funds through sponsorship, ticket sales, and donations from event attendees, to date the organization has raised a grand total of $706,339, a dramatic increase in funds raised last year. The increase in donations was due in no small part to concerted fundraising efforts by Lorne Segal, the event’s chair.

Recipients

Leslie Nelson, 53 of Burnaby, has been named as the 2007 Courage To Come Back Award recipient in the Social Adversity category. Read more about Leslie >>
Loyanne McCuaig, 69 of Vancouver, has been named as the 2007 Courage to Come Back Award recipient in the Mental Health category. Read more about Loy Anne >>
John Morrison, 61 of Prince George has been names as the 2007 Courage To Come Back recipient in the Medical category. Read more about John >>
Hersh Abramson, 48 of Vancouver has been named as the 2007 Courage to Come Back Award recipient in the Addiction category. Read more about Hersh >>
Kaytee Tuomola, 19 of Vancouver, has been named as the 2007 Courage to Come Back Award recipient in the Youth category. Read more about Kaytee >>
Merle Smith, 58 of Coquitlam, has been named as the 2007 Courage to Come Back Award recipient in the Physical Rehabilitation category. Read more about Merle >>

Merle Smith - Physical Rehabilitation

Merle Smith, 58 of Coquitlam, has been named as the 2007 Courage to Come Back Award recipient in the Physical Rehabilitation category.

“I feel very honoured to receive this award after many years of working in the field of disabilities,” says Smith. “I think it is an important award to acknowledge the achievements of people with disabilities and making the public aware that people with disabilities can accomplish great things.”

In 1963, at the age of 14, Smith was hiking on Mount Seymour with several high school friends when they encountered a white-out situation. Unable to see several feet in front of them, they fell off a cliff, resulting in Smith breaking her neck and rendering her a quadriplegic immediately. Despite the circumstances, Smith’s determination and hard work saw her return to school to graduate with her friends, “I made a decision to have a normal life,” states Smith.

Being the only disabled student in her school, she quickly realized upon her return that things would be difficult. As Smith recalls, “the school wasn’t very accessible. I had to ask for a lot of help from friends in getting me around the school. The choice was either to ask for assistance or not to go out.” After graduation, Smith received a BA from SFU, quickly followed by a Masters degree from UBC. From there, she began to dedicate her life to helping people with disabilities.

In 1973, she got a job working for the Ministry of Human Resources and was quickly appointed as the ‘Ombudsman for the Handicapped’, the first such position in Canada and one that gave her enormous responsibility. Working tirelessly, Smith was also on numerous committees and chaired at conferences to make changes in the services and facilities for people with disabilities in B.C. and Canada. Smith remembers, “I was traveling to see what other places were doing to accommodate disabilities, and was consulting with other cities around the province on how to set up Mayor’s committees similar to Coquitlam’s for people with disabilities.”

Then, in 1975 as Smith was driving home from a private reception representing the Minister, she was struck head on by a drunk driver. Smith sustained life threatening injuries, ending up in the critical care until at the hospital. “I had to start all over again,” recalls Smith. “I lost all my strength and abilities, had to go back to rehab and relearn everything again.”

Battling through once more, Smith returned to work in 1977 picking up where she left off. Over the next 30 years, she blazed trails in the realm of disabilities through her work in the Ministry, in the Coquitlam Mayor’s office, and various other consulting and speaking engagements, becoming a powerful voice for people with disabilities. Some of her achievements include changing building codes to make them more accessible; developing bursary programs; and establishing disabled access services for several events and programs, such as the Vancouver Folk Music Festival.

Smith has made a tremendous difference for all people with disabilities since 1979. As Smith puts it, “I wanted a change for society that would make it a level playing field for people with disabilities so they could be as involved as they should and like to be. I never listened to people say you can’t do it. If I wanted to do it, I’d do it, and pretty much everything I accomplished was a first.”

Today, Smith is still very involved in local festivals, committees and speaking engagements to develop the necessary services and facilities, as well as building codes to ensure easy access for people with disabilities. As Smith explains, “My goal is to educate that people with disabilities need to be included in society and can actually contribute in many ways. We have come a long way, but there is still work to be done. I am working hard to get rid of any barriers to allow this to happen.”

Photo credit: Gerry Kahrmann, The Province

Kaytee Tuomola - Youth

Kaytee Tuomola, 19 of Vancouver, has been named as the 2007 Courage to Come Back Award recipient in the Youth category.

Tuomola is being recognized for courageously battling back from drug addiction and homelessness. She will receive her Courage To Come Back Award at the ninth annual gala dinner at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver on Thursday, April 19^th.

“When I received the call to let me know I was receiving this award, I was quite overwhelmed and nervous,” says Tuomola. “I actually didn’t realize it was this big of an award, but I feel truly honoured and I am really looking forward to the event!”

Growing up in Nanaimo, Tuomola did not have a great childhood. Starting at a very young age her parents often left her at a babysitter’s house, sometimes for days at a time. As Tuomola remembers, “I grew up calling the babysitter my mom as I was around her all of the time.”

Despite her parents battling alcoholism, things improved over the years but she was often left in the care of her older sister. Eventually, her sister started getting involved in drugs and prostitution, resulting in her getting pregnant. Tuomola was left to be the babysitter and mom to her niece, fostering resentment for being stuck at home. As Tuomola recalls, “I was 13, I wanted to have fun and be out with friends so I started rebelling - leaving the house without telling my parents, drinking heavily and beginning to use crystal meth.”

At the age of 14, she found out that her mom was sick, which was “pretty heartbreaking,” says Tuomola. This prompted her to constantly run away, hang out with the wrong crowd, and steal from her parents to support her habit. Two years later her mom passed away, which propelled Tuomola further into a life of drugs.

Through her drug habit, she started hanging around with a bad crowd and became involved with her drug dealer, resulting in an unplanned pregnancy. “I was young and in a very bad place in my life. I didn’t want to let him go, so decided to have the child,” says Tuomola. At eight months pregnant, they moved to Vancouver to try to start over, but with no money, they were relegated to living on the streets.

Soon after, Tuomola decided to seek help from a welfare office. She went to live in Covenant House until she was admitted to the Fir Square ward at BC Women’s Hospital for the birth of her son. With the help of her doctors, who had also banned the baby’s father from seeing them, Tuomola decided to turn her life around. “My doctors convinced the social workers to leave my son with me, providing I stay in the hospital and get better. They let me stay as long as I wanted to and I love them so much for that.”

Shortly after, Tuomola was sent to live in a semi-independent living situation that provided the regular routine that she lacked growing up. As Tuomola recalls, “it was sort of like a foster care for young moms. Living there gave me the structure I needed and allowed me to focus on my goals – to go back to school and to be able to provide for my son.”

As a teen mom, she completed her high school education, earning straight As and four scholarships to further her education. She also moved out on her own, leading her to where she is today, living with two other young moms. “I live in a great house. There are youth counselors living upstairs, so it is nice to know that whenever I have a problem, they are right there to listen,” says Tuomola.

Today, Tuomola is busy being a full-time mom to her son Damien and attending classes at BCIT five days a week, working towards a future career in the trades. “Right now, I get to study a bunch of different trades but my goal is to be a plumber, and I would eventually like to get a certificate in welding.” Putting the past behind her, Tuomola is committed to achieving these goals and building a great life for her and her son.

Photo credit: Gerry Kahrmann, The Province

Hersh Abramson - Addiction

Hersh Abramson, 48 of Vancouver has been named as the 2007 Courage to Come Back Award recipient in the Addiction category.

“It’s a great honour to be receiving this award,” says Abramson. “When coming from a background as bad as mine, it is a miracle that I overcame my struggle with addiction. I am still awestruck, and this is an entirely new experience for me!”

At the age of eight, Abramson was put into a group home in Winnipeg, MB. Following his peers’ encouragement, he started doing drugs, which began his long struggle with drug addiction and homelessness. As Abramson recalls, “heroin was the love of my life. When I used, I would go to the seediest areas, it didn’t matter what city I was in, or where I was.” At 17, Hersh relocated to Vancouver in hopes of starting over, but was soon drawn to a life on the Downtown Eastside.

For years, Abramson struggled with his addiction, attempting to get clean but always relapsing back into drugs, and refusing to accept help from others around him. In 1993, after a heroin overdose resulting in serious kidney failure, he entered a recovery house in New Westminster. He stayed for a period of three months, which helped him stay clean for several years. But in 1996, Abramson suffered another relapse. For five years, he went between the streets and jail, each bringing him further into despair and depression.

Then, in 2000, Abramson suffered a major blow. Due to neglect for his health and well-being, he had several infections on his lower extremities resulting in the removal of his toes on his right foot in February, followed by his leg in April.

In 2001, nine days to the year after he lost his leg, Abramson decided to battle back and become clean. As he remembers, “I was 42 years old and had enough – I couldn’t do it anymore. I was in a wheelchair, with suicidal thoughts hoping someone else would do it for me.” He finally sought help and brought himself to the shelter.

Abramson explains, “I wheeled myself to the shelter where I had been given a permanent couch to sleep on. Waking up in the morning, my pillow was damp, and while I don’t remember this, I realized that I had been crying all night. It was at this point I demanded a bed where I went through detox. One of the doctors has tears in her eyes when she sees me today as she didn’t think I was going to make it.”

Now clean for six years, Abramson takes each day one at a time. “By setting minimal goals for myself, it tells me that I can stay clean for one more day. As a recovering addict, staying clean for one day is a miracle,” explains Abramson. He is also making small financial goals by routinely saving money to hopefully buy a place of his own someday.

Today, Abramson is working part-time with SafeRide and attending Narcotics Anonymous (NA) conventions. Last year, he attended the NA Convention in Hawaii and is currently saving money with hopes of attending the World NA Convention in Barcelona, Spain in 2009. Abramson proudly explains, “I am now going further away from home than I have ever been.”

In addition to this part-time employment, he is also a full-time health care worker for the Salvation Army Harbour Light Alcohol & Drug Rehabilitation Centre. Working with people who are coming back from a relapse or have never been able to stay clean before, he provides emotional support and guidance. As Abramson explains, “I am very vocal about what I did in my life and focused on how I can help others. My main role is to put that glimmer of hope in somebody’s eyes that if Hersh can do it, I can do it too.”

Photo credit: Jason Payne, The Province

John Morrison - Medical

John Morrison, 61 of Prince George has been named as the 2007 Courage to Come Back Award recipient in the Medical category.

“This is an incredible surprise to be receiving this award,” says Morrison. “Facing the many trials and tribulations of my life, I have gotten used to having to cope, not really considering myself as being courageous.”

At the age of nine, Morrison was diagnosed with diabetes. With little help from his parents on how to deal with this disease, Morrison had no knowledge of how to treat and avoid related complications. As a result, he took poor care of his health while growing up and subsequently was unable to control some of the common symptoms of the disease. Complications arose and Morrison lost his leg to a serious infection in 1978.

Then, as Morrison was just starting to learn how to walk with one leg, he went completely blind. Like any major injury, this completely changed Morrison’s life. “I was just chugging along and making progress with my prosthesis. At this time, I was largely unfamiliar with the world of disabilities, so I had to learn quickly and cope,” says Morrison.

Further complications from diabetes resulted in the amputation of his second leg, 23 years after the loss of his first. Despite these setbacks, Morrison has maintained his unfaltering sense of humour. As Morrison remembers, “While I had the help of a guide dog, I was the only person in my
community with a double prosthesis who was walking by himself. I used a special harness that provided ample support to lean on when I was having troubles walking. My dog Nasa was a very accepting dog, no matter what. He was a great space cadet!”

During this time, Morrison was actively involved in his community as a member of the Special Needs Advisory Committee. The committee pushed the City of Prince George to be more accommodating to people with disabilities and were able to implement new services such as ramped sidewalks and crosswalks catering to the blind. Additionally, Morrison was doing presentations in local schools to educate students on disabilities, incorporating demonstrations with his guide dog. As Morrison recalls, “I was very involved in the community to show kids that I can do anything you can do, except maybe ride a bike.”

In July 2004, Morrison suffered another setback. Missing the safety bar and railing at the top of his stairs, he fell, landing on the back of his neck rendering him a paraplegic. The rehabilitation process took over a year, where Morrison experienced severe leg spasms he couldn’t control. With oral medications not working, he spoke with a specialist that implanted a catheter into his spine, which has helped control the spasms. “I have been very fortunate to have this implanted as the spasms have reduced drastically since my accident,” says Morrison.

Morrison credits his wife, Cindy, for helping him get through these difficult times, “She cared for me during the early critical stages. When she wasn’t working she found a house that could be made wheelchair accessible. She is an incredible woman and the biggest reason I am still around today.”

Since his accident, Morrison has not gotten back into the city initiatives or school presentations but looks forward to getting involved again. “I lost a year where I wasn’t into anything or doing anything,” explains Morrison. “It wasn’t until the end of last year that I really started to pull things together and I am at the point now where I feel I can carry on.”

Morrison’s next step is the hope of acquiring a guide dog trained on how to operate around a wheelchair with his application to the Guide Dogs for the Blind currently being considered. As Morrison says, “my electric chair is hard to operate and move around. With this superbly trained dog, I see it as the next opening in my idea of freedom where I might have some decisions in my mobility.”

Photo credit: Dave Milne – Special to The Province

Loyanne McCuaig - Mental Health

Loyanne McCuaig, 69 of Vancouver, has been named as the 2007 Courage to Come Back Award recipient in the Mental Health category.

“Receiving this award gives me a really nice feeling,” says McCuaig. “I have experienced stigma, even working within the mental health field, as not all people accept that those with a mental illness can work. My co-workers who nominated me for this award have recognized that I have accomplished something.”

In 1968 at the age of 30, McCuaig began experiencing symptoms of schizophrenia including hearing voices, experiencing feelings of paranoia and feeling persecuted by the media. These symptoms persisted undiagnosed for several years. As McCuaig explains, “I was a single parent with two young kids, so there was no one to intervene and help my kids.” After a period of time, life went back to normal.

Several years later McCuaig became ill for a second time, more seriously this time. Although she lacked awareness and was exhibiting unusual behaviour, such as stealing the neighbours flowers or only cooking with tomatoes, she still continued life untreated for the next six years. McCuaig remembers this time as being very difficult for her children, “they were afraid, mad at me and didn’t trust me.”

She was eventually evicted from her apartment, leaving her family homeless for nine months. Finally she sought help from a welfare worker and ended up being admitted to Riverview for treatment. There she was given medication that eliminated the psychosis, however it only aggravated the negative symptoms of schizophrenia and left her feeling isolated, withdrawn and depressed. At this point McCuaig recounts, “I realized I was crazy but could not deal with it or accept it. So, I was sent to live on the Downtown East Side.”

“Being sent to live in the worst neighbourhood in Canada proved society didn’t want anything to do with me,” remembers McCuaig. “My children were very young and they didn’t know how to help
and couldn’t find anyone to help them.”

Through their determination and persistence to help their mom, her children started fighting the system, and McCuaig herself, to obtain treatment for her in rehab. Eventually, they broke through and after five years of two to three days of treatment per week, she slowly started to battle her illness. McCuaig stresses, “Without my children fighting for me, I think I would still be in that bed on skid row. That feeling that somebody still loves you made me continue to try, otherwise I just would have given up.”

As a result of her experiences, McCuaig realized that she wanted to work in the mental health field. In 1989, she started to deliver presentations on rehabilitation. Finding that she was quite good at it, she started presenting on schizophrenia. “The biggest problem with mental health is that people don’t understand it. They just want us to go away somewhere,” says McCuaig. “So, I saw this as a way for me to earn a living and make it easier for people to get past the stigma.” Since she started, she has presented to thousands of people in various industries as well as served as a peer support worker to provide one-on-one support to people with mental illness.

In 2004, McCuaig was diagnosed with lung cancer and given a prognosis of 10 months to live. Two years later, she is still fighting and enjoying life. While it has been a rough journey for McCuaig, she has maintained a positive outlook and committed to raising awareness and helping others with mental illness. As McCuaig points out, “one in five people in BC have a mental illness, but with a significant lack of resources and awareness, majority of people know nothing about it. Mental illness is not something that is caused. It can happen to anyone.”

Loy Anne will receive her Courage To Come Back Award at the ninth annual gala dinner at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver on Thursday, April 19th.

Photo credit: Jon Murray, The Province

Leslie Nelson - Social Adversity

Leslie Nelson, 53 of Burnaby has been named as the 2007 Courage to Come Back Award recipient in the Social Adversity category.

Nelson is being recognized for courageously battling back from poverty, oppression, drug addiction crime and violence. He will receive his Courage To Come Back Award at the ninth annual gala dinner at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver on Thursday, April 19th.

“Receiving this award is a tremendous honour,” says Nelson. “Sometimes I don’t think I deserve it,
I hurt a lot of people in my life, including myself but if anything, I owe society. So, if being a good
person is repayment, I will do anything to turn that around.”

Nelson grew up in Cold Lake, Alberta as the youngest of nine children. Despite living in poverty, his mother was determined to raise her children on her own. As Nelson explains, “there was lots of love in our home, which seemed to erase any sense of poverty.” When the family moved to Edmonton in 1963, Nelson began facing racism and discrimination at school. He became immersed in the drug and gang culture and quit school at the age of 16.

“If you weren’t a member of such a group, then you were isolated even more,” explains Nelson. “The gangs offered me a place where it was easy to fit in and be accepted. These people were just like me, and became a large part of my life.”

Soon afterwards, Nelson began having problems with the law. Before he was 16 he was sentenced to a six-month jail term. Over the next several years, as his violent behaviour and drug addiction increased, so did his jail time.

However, prison also offered many opportunities to change. He took advantage of prison education programs as well as mentorship from native elders. Nelson feels that “prison was maybe a godsend. While it took away my freedom and any real opportunity, it also preserved my life in many ways.”

In 1975, he suffered a major setback when his sister passed away, followed only two days later by his mother. Nelson felt responsible. “I became more violent and uncontrollable,” he remembers. “I was shipped around by the justice system, getting more labels put on me, essentially understood as someone who would not benefit from parole.”

In between his jail terms, Nelson worked at a series of jobs, but always slid back into a life of drugs. In 1991, Nelson relocated to Vancouver’s downtown eastside where he survived by stealing and drug dealing.

It wasn’t until his parole officer suggested that he attend a workshop in Blaine, WA that he turned his life around. There he resolved some outstanding issues regarding his father and realized that he wanted to commit his life to working with people. Upon his return he took a life skills course in White Rock. As he recounts, “this was the single most important event in my life. It saved my life – changed my thinking, changed my process and helped me to heal.”

Today Nelson is passionate about empowering others and helping them to confront the challenges in their own lives. He has worked at recovery centres and been a family support worker. Now he is an employment counselor at ACCESS Aboriginal Community Career & Employment Services Society where he offers support and guidance to First Nations people. His commitment to giving back to his community is a cornerstone of his life.

Leslie will receive his Courage To Come Back Award at the ninth annual gala dinner at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver on Thursday, April 19th.

Photo credit: Nick Procaylo, The Province