Letter from the Editor…
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If we didn’t know before, it’s become increasingly evident through the pandemic that we need one another. As other city divisions are phased in with the return to the workplace, we in TFS have continued to run the course throughout the pandemic. In many facets, I think more often about what it means to be resilient. We have certainly come a loooong way through this pandemic. We have been through all seasons with COVID-19, experienced highs and lows, know better what to expect, increased the vaccination population and continued to respond necessarily even though there has been much added stress. This to note, we have come to appreciate family and friendship, and to utilize support and the mental health network. When I speak with friends and colleagues, I continually hear how they are excited that public places to gather and socialize are open again, and that they can get out of the house and celebrate friendship. As the city returns staff to the workplace, many are eager not to work, since we’ve been doing that all along. Rather, they are eager to gather and socialize again. When I am scheduled in the office and other colleagues are also there, I see the enthusiasm in the faces of others when they talk. In some ways, it’s like we’ve returned from an apocalypse! While we work in teams, it’s known that it only takes one to support, provide companionship, save, collaborate, and befriend. I’ve used this example before and it’s a good one…if you recall the movie Cast Away, Wilson (a volleyball) becomes the main actor’s (Chuck Noland, played by Tom Hanks) only friend
TORONTO FIRE SERVICES EAP/CIS NEWSLETTER
Lynn Sciberras
and companion through his deserted four-year journey (and it’s not even human). Although it only takes one, we all know that the whole is greater than the sum of its individual parts. Humanity hangs on to whatever it is that provides a source of hope. This is one aspect of resilience. Another source of resilience is having someone, or a network, to provide support, to help us get back on our feet. Much else is up to us. The adage, “where there’s a will, there’s a way,” applies and if the way cannot be found, get trusted support and a back up. Knowing there is light at the end of the tunnel is what provides this hope. We no longer need to feel alone. We have several resources to draw from and Adina does a great job in outlining an abundance of resources in her article below. So, as we re-open in this phase of the pandemic, strongly consider connecting with a suitable mental health resource in support of your life journey and your check up from the neck up. People need people. This is a mantra that I repeat often with my adopted child. Though now a young adult, they learned at a young age, through unfortunate and unfair lived experience, that people were not to be depended upon and that extreme self-reliance was the way to survive. I have admired their resilience since the day I met them, and I continue to marvel at the strength they exhibit as they work to evolve past the lessons learned through trauma and embrace the complexity of a complete and fulfilling adult life. When I see them struggling and retreating into themselves, I remind them, ‘People need people, if we want to thrive, not just survive.’
VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 3 | FIRE WATCH
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