A field of peace
Up to 60 former Cape Breton Hospital patients are buried at site
Ach-Na-Sith is both a place of remembrance and a demonstration of how far the community has come in its treatment of those living with mental illness.
Gaelic for Field of Peace, AchNa-Sith is more than a lovely park area located off of Keltic Drive in Sydney River. It’s also the final resting place for up to 60 residents of the former Cape Breton Hospital, which once stood at the site. The deaths occurred between 1906-1959 and the graves are unmarked.
Nova Scotia Health Authority’s Crossroads Cape Breton works with Pathways to Employment Cape Breton to maintain the site.
“It is a place of beauty and of peacefulness … It’s a hopeful place,” said Colleen Mackenzie, co-ordinator of Crossroads Cape Breton.
The site is now well cared for by people who themselves are living with mental illness, who are paid a fair wage for their work. The site is now owned by Breton Ability Centre.
Will McKenzie, a member of Crossroads Cape Breton, recently began tending to the site by raking the grounds.
“It’s been quite an experience to work at a site in memory of people who lived with mental illness,” he said. “I wanted to get a new start and gain some experience in what it was like to work physically.”
It’s the 36-year-old’s first experience in the workforce. He said he was struck by the beauty of the property. In speaking with others who visit the site, McKenzie said it often brings them back to their own experiences at the Cape Breton Hospital.
“We’ve lost so many people who have struggled living with a mental illness and I’m hoping some day as the Field of Peace keeps running that our next generation will learn of our history here and keep up the tradition of honouring those who have lost their lives here,” McKenzie said.
He urges anyone living with mental illness to get back into the workforce.
“Don’t be afraid to give it a try, you never know what you’re going to miss out on, you never know what history you’re going to learn,” he said. “Always reach for new opportunities.”
Dr. Linda Courey, senior director of mental health and addictions with the Nova Scotia Health Authority, noted that the maintenance of the site creates opportunities for people to work, creates space for healing and remembrance and supports a vision of wellness.
It also allows people to celebrate how far the community has come in working to improve the lives of those living with mental health disorders and substance use disorders, she said.
Over time, under the leadership of Dr. M.A. Mian, the region has moved toward deinstitutionalization of those with mental illness, Courey said.
“That hospital went from about 500 beds in the 60s and 70s, I guess, to about 90 beds in the early 1980s,” she said.
There are currently 50 beds allotted to mental health care at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital. There is an increased focus on providing supports in the community, Courey added.
The CBRM tended the property for many years but in 1999 the Cape Breton Hospital Mental Health Services Charitable Foundation arranged to have the site designated as a cemetery and established a memorial garden there.
“One or two of the board members would actually come out here and regularly do the gardening themselves out of a desire to ensure the site’s dignity and serenity were maintained,” Courey said.
In 2011, the charitable foundation made a substantial donation to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation’s $1.35 million campaign to support local mental health and addiction services. The hospital foundation now supports Ach-Na-Sith’s maintenance by employing people living with mental illness to perform the work, in partnership with Pathways to Employment and Crossroads Cape Breton.
“This arrangement respects the patients buried here while providing employment opportunities for those living with persistent mental illness, an interesting irony that demonstrates how far we have some in understanding what we need to do in order to address mental illness and the supports that need to be in place to promote mental wellness and recovery,” Courey said.
Employment plays an important role in someone’s physical and mental health, she added.