Group calling for better health-care support for women and children

A local advocacy group is challenging the province to fix the problems Islanders face when they attempt to access mental health services.

The group, Island Mothers Helping Mothers, was started three years ago by Sarah Stewart-Clarke and Emily Heaney, to form a support system for mothers on P.E.I. Within a year, hundreds joined. Now the number exceeds 4,100.

“P.E.I. has a serious issue of ignoring sexual assaults, child abuse and addictions. I know because I have met these women over the past three years,” says Stewart-Clarke.

“It is time to face this sobering reality and put meaningful efforts into prevention and treatment for women and children who have been abused,” she added.

Stewart-Clarke is concerned about the wait times facing youth who have attempted suicide and those seeking help with addiction.

“Given the intensity of the problem, we have a real need for action from the government. There is a mental health crisis on P.E.I. On the surface there appears to be many supports a woman in crisis can access. But when you actually attempt to navigate those channels, you quickly discover that all roads lead to wait times.”

To shine a light on the issue, Island Mothers Helping Mothers is hosting two public events where women who have struggled with the current system will have an opportunity to be heard. For those who are not ready to share their stories publicly, readers will be present to share the written stories out loud. The public meetings are set for Monday, March 27, at Causeway Bay Hotel in Summerside, and March 28 at the Murchison Centre in Charlottetown. The meeting is open to the public, and Stewart-Clarke encourages anyone who has felt ignored by the health-care system to show and be heard.

“We can be ignored as individuals, but we cannot be ignored as a group of 4,100 women. We are going to stand together as Island women and share the reality of life in P.E.I. for far too many women and children. “This is our time to speak together with one voice to vocalize that P.E.I. has a serious issue and that we will no longer tolerate being ignored.”