A story about privilege, mental illness, and why I'm voting NDP
It's no secret that I struggled with a nasty bout of postpartum depression and anxiety after baby two.
It's taken me a couple years to unpack everything that went on — and while some of that unpacking has been done publicly, the majority of it is done privately.
That process led me to examine not only my experience with mental illness and addiction, but to reflect on how things could have gone differently if I were someone else. It does all the time.
I've had a lot of things on my side — I'm white, grew up middle class with no shortage of love and security, I'm educated, I have a partner with a good job + benefits, and I understand how to navigate the medical system and be an advocate for myself.
I am so fucking lucky, and even at my worst that doesn't escape my attention.
Even with all of those things working to my advantage, I nearly lost myself because none of that was enough for the realities of adulting these days.
To put my broken self back together, I needed:
Affordable and accessible childcare.
Access to prescription medication.
Professional therapy.
I am incredibly fortunate because of all the reasons mentioned above, and, it was still so much work to put together the treatment plan that is keeping me healthy.
Not everyone has that kind of privilege, and that is exactly why we need a government that is at least willing to try to provide Canadian citizens access to these critical resources and support systems.
Also, access to CLEAN DRINKING WATER which is a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT and should NEVER BE UP FOR POLITICAL DEBATE.
In the past, my political activism has been limited to social media. But for the first time, for this campaign, I put my feet to the pavement and went knocking door to door in my community.
Our local NDP candidate is John Mogk.
John is the bomb, and I have no reservations about throwing all of my support behind him and Jagmeet Singh.
#UpRiSingh
Why such vocal support this time around?
Because I am so sick and tired of business as usual in the world of politics. And I’m not the only one.
Most people that I talk to are so disenfranchised with politicians, and I get it. The mud-slinging is pathetic (I roll my eyes when my toddler does it too) and I'm sick of people pretending to be above reproach when we are all just human beings.
that humanity & realness is what I feel with John.
Maple Ridge and PItt Meadows has its issues — every community does — and one of the most polarizing topics is the homelessness and addiction crisis that we see every day.
I get it. I hate watching for needles in a park, and worrying about my valuables when I park my car downtown. And.
We all deserve to feel safe in our community.
Which brings me back to John. Because he has worked as a mental health and addictions counsellor for the last 30 years of his life. Yup, you read that right.
John Mogk has three decades of training and hands-on experience that our little Fraser Valley community so desperately needs.
He has been helping to lift people out of the cycle of poverty and addiction for almost as long as I've been alive. And. He understands this work intimately.
John has an incredibly relatable story that includes using drugs and alcohol in early adulthood to cope with unresolved trauma, and in an effort to find belonging. (HELLO IT ME!!)
What he found instead was rock bottom and the road to recovery, and he has been clean ever since.
You have no idea how strong you are until you have to pick yourself up from the ashes you created.
That’s the strength and resolve I want
to see for Maple Ridge and pitt meadows.
What's even more inspiring to me (remember: I have never voluntarily put on pants and gone knocking on the doors of strangers for ANY OTHER CANDIDATE) is that through it all, John has developed this beautiful and ingrained belief that everybody is deserving of hope and a fresh start.
Holy hell is that something that I can get behind.
I know that John gets the struggles I'm facing every day, raising kids in a ridiculously expensive (but beautiful) corner of the world because he’s a single dad (hi Mary!) working just as hard as we are. Actually, harder right now, because I go home at the end of my volunteer shift but John goes out for another round of door knocking and listening.
(What a crazy thought…a leader who actually LISTENS to what his people have to say.)
And I know that Jagmeet gets it too, because the NDP platform is built on practical ideas that will actually make a difference in my life as a totally normal (lies, super weird) Canadian millennial who just wants a future for my children that does not involve international climate catastrophes, unaffordable and inaccessible healthcare, and does include CLEAN FUCKING WATER TO DRINK.
(Why do I even have to argue for that...)
All of that to say:
I implore you to exercise your right to vote.
Vote with your conscience.
Vote for humanity.
Vote for a viable planet and sustainable future.
Don't believe it when people say that your vote doesn't matter because that's bullshit. It does.
Don't believe that a government can't find the money to provide basic human rights to its citizens, because that is bullshit. It can.
For the love of all that is good and holy in your world, vote for love.
Because the opposite of addiction isn't sobriety, it's connection.
We need each other. Now let's work together.
Sign up to volunteer at your local NDP office, donate to their campaign, and if you’re local to Maple Ridge (like me!) you can email Bryan and offer to volunteer on Election Day and encourage people to vote. I even made it super easy and drafted the email for you. All you have to do is add your name and contact info and you’re good to go! :D