A touching message

On November 24th, retired Lieutenant- General Roméo Dallaire gave a lecture to a full house at the CFB Bagotville theatre.

As part of their addiction awareness campaign, the Health Promotion team invited Mr. Dallaire to share his personal experience with addiction. "The goal was that people would see how he overcame challenging life experiences without falling into addiction or selfmedication, but rather asking for help," says Susie Bernier, Health Promotion. The Family Support Coordinator for the Operational Stress Injury Social Support ( OSISS) program, Sylvie Lefebvre, who attended the conference, said that Lt. Gen. Dallaire was easily able to capture and keep the attention of his audience. "When he talked about the importance of getting help for what he calls ‘ his wound between his ears’, his message was very clear and to the point. First, go for professional help. Second, if you need medication, take it! Just like a diabetic would take insulin. Third, it is important to be surrounded by caring people and to have a support network which includes your peers. And finally, do it for yourself, but also for your family and all those around you, "said Sylvie Lefebvre. Lt. Gen Dallaire explained that this "wound between the ears" is an injury like any other. The difference, according to him, is simply that because it cannot be seen, it is more difficult to diagnose and more difficult for the people around us to understand. Those who attended the conference left with some deep material to reflect on.