 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
||||||||
 |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
 |
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
Sherri Rochon with John Murphy, Executive Vice President, Ontario
Power Generation (1st right) and Don MacKinnon, President of the
Power Workers' Union and Andy Barrie (left).
|
Barrie, Ontario
Love for her son inspires single mom to overcome extreme poverty, depression, and addictions to alcohol and drugs
Sherri Rochon was born and raised into a family with a history of mental health and addiction issues. At age 12, Sherri began drinking and shortly after, quit school. In her mid-twenties she joined AA with a friend and was able to stay clean until her battle with depression led her to another form of addiction using non-prescription drugs -- anything that might help mask the pain.
Addiction impacted Sherri's life to the point that she was physically and emotionally dying. Dealing with low self-esteem and an acceptance of a life of poverty, which she felt she deserved, Sherri found it difficult to distinguish between the depression and the addiction. There were times when she thought, "If this is life, who wants it." Sherri had a young son to look after. Realizing that she had not been there emotionally for him, while working two jobs with only a Grade 8 education, she was inspired to go back to school and seek psychiatric help through therapy and medication. Living on welfare, she was forced to use second hand furniture, access local churches for food, accept food baskets from her son's school and sometimes even take food from her plate to give to her son so he wouldn't be hungry. When his shoes fell apart, she would glue and tape them together. During this time, she found her faith was being redefined.
Sherri was attending courses to upgrade her skills. She had applied for and received a bursary to take a medical secretary course, but returned the money to take a social services course instead. She appealed to the applicant issuers to let her take the course in spite of her financial problems, and promised she would not let them down. The reply was "how about not letting yourself down." Sherri was not only accepted into the program, but she also learned the important lesson that it was okay to value herself.
After graduating from the course, Sherri once again found herself very depressed and suicidal. She entered an addictions treatment centre in Elliott Lake, which she now believes was a major turning point in her life. During the next seven years of recovery in both individual and group therapy, Sherri continued to take part-time courses and volunteer in the social services field while still looking after her son.
By the age of 35, Sherri obtained her first paying job in social services, working as a front-line relief worker at a hospital detox centre. Later, she accepted a position as a case manager with the Canadian Mental Health Association. She has now been totally clean for over 10 years.
Today, Sherri is the co-coordinator for The Family Mental Health Initiative of Simcoe County. Her number one priority is to help people helping themselves, while maintaining their dignity. Sherri says "What I have learned is that you set goals and dreams, knowing that there is hope. Our illness doesn't define us -- it is only a part of us that can be maintained, so that we can live our dreams and aspirations." Her nominator and former client says that Sherri is compassionate, outgoing, friendly, reassuring, respectful and nurturing. She also says that Sherri has shown that we are all a beautiful gift of life and is an angel sent to show others that anyone can learn to fly in the face of adversity and do it with pride.
 |
|
|
||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
||||||||
This page was last modified on February 5, 2003 9:31 AM .
(416) 979-6909 
