Helping is the cure for what ails us

Recovery is at the heart of qL’s seventh annual helping issue: (From left to right) Veterans Michael Koestlmaier, Gordon Hoffman and Matthew Staley (with his service dog Fisher) all sought treatment for war-time trauma at the Sunshine Coast Health Centre. Josh Bennett sought treatment for addictions at Miklat House, and Miklat House director of operations Rob Fitzpatrick recovered from his addictions at BC Corrections’ Guthrie House, in Nanaimo.

Normally by late October, I’m pawing through my Halloween-through-Christmas seasonal decorations to keep myself mentally afloat as the weather changes from crisp and colourful to soggy and dark. It’s not a sophsticated mental health strategy, but it works.

Or at least, it has always worked before. This fall feels particularly “off,” in the words of Juliette Jarvis, qL’s Return to Reverence columnist. She nailed it in this month’s piece, in identifying that this is a tough time, psychologically and spiritually, for many of us.

Why? It’s no secret that this has been a rough year globally, with war, severe weather and inflation dominating the news. Locally, too, this year has been marked by continuous community conflict, as well as COVID-19, the mill’s closure, a labour crisis, and inflation. In the story about our local food bank, manager Savanna Dee notes that last year’s $48 bag of groceries is now an $80 bad. We're all feeling that.

So this year, more than any other, we’re thrilled to publish The Helping Issue - our seventh. Our 'How to Help' section invites you to help, which really is the cure for feelings of doom.

The transformational stories of Mike, Gord, Matt, Josh and Rob (the men on the cover, and featured in various articles this issue) are fundamentally about hope, and kindness, and the support this region is capable of.

Events, as always, promise to draw this community back together. November is craft fair season once again. Plus the new Cheer Fest is coming up, as well as Mushroom Fest and Memento Mori – a series of artist-led events to help address climate grief. Not to mention what is certainly a record-setting number of live music events. And so much more.

And if seasonal decorations are your SAD strategy, too, the City invites you to dive in, with Light Up Powell River: a contest & tour.