L By STACEY LEE
ife gets crazy sometimes, human beings falter, and mental health issues plague some but Canadian Mental Health Association Alberta Southeast is in the prevention business.
The Canadian Mental Health Association Alberta Southeast is far more than an efficient boardroom and a few small
offices. It could be described as a team of prevention officers bent on eradicating the fear and stigma often, and unnecessarily, attached to mental health. From within that small office on Dunmore Road executive director Sharon Hayward and her small team make an incredible impact on the city and region.
Hayward began her career in Prince Albert, Sask., and came to Alberta to work for Alberta Health Services as a provincial case manager. She soon felt too far removed from the people she desperately wanted to help.
“I found my passion was at the community level. When a position opened up here I got very excited and was really happy to be chosen to fill it.”
O 68 | 2013 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA
Sharon Hayward, executive director of Canadian Mental Health Association - Alberta Southeast Region, poses for a photograph at The Post. The second-hand store sells used clothing, furniture and housewares to raise funds for mental health support in the community.
With a Master’s Degree in Social Work and having specialized in Human Services at the University of Calgary, Hayward has proven to be a dedicated leader. Responsible for the majority of the program planning, budgeting, fund development and supervision of the staff she does far more than “fiddle” with spreadsheets.
Overcoming the obstacles of mental illness one person at a time
Every so often she hears about one of the programs she was helping develop finally filtering down the ranks but also admits to getting greater satisfaction from “making an immediate impact at the community level.”
Having already filled a government position, making the transition into the non-profit sector was not easy. Hayward found the salary and benefits weren’t comparable but having the ability to focus her creativity and make that impact evened things out a bit.
Hayward’s job, like mental health, can be described as an uphill battle. Although counsellors are trained to help people who are having trouble coping, Hayward’s work is focused “farther upstream.”
“An analogy commonly used in health care is a river,” she says. “When you see a counsellor you are at the waterfall point. The work we do prevents you from ever reaching that waterfall.”
She describes the organization’s job as fighting the stigma that surrounds mental illness so people don’t “buy into common misconceptions.” Hayward insists having a mental illness doesn’t mean you will go shoot up a mall or school.
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