Margaret Trudeau lights up RIH Foundation fundraiser

Apr 13, 2016 | 10:38 AM

KAMLOOPS — Margaret Trudeau shared her story at the Shine The Light fundraiser to raise money for the improvements to One South, the mental health ward in the Royal Inland Hospital.

The fundraiser was put on by the RIH Foundation and the Rotary Club of Kamloops. 

Trudeau says it’s vital to have a space that is positive and safe for patients when they are receiving treatment.

“You need a common space to join with others, you need a space where family feels safe, and that’s what they’re trying to offer here, it’s a good thing,” said Trudeau

“Some of our most fragile, vulnerable individuals find themselves at some point in that ward and I think that it’s absolutely paramount that it’s a safe, comfortable place for people to heal,” said Christa Mullaly, Executive Director of the Kamloops branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Trudeau says there are a lot of breakthroughs happening around the science of the brain and mental health and says every family should be open to understanding as it affects many families.

“None of us want to be flawed and weak, and we pretend that we aren’t, when in fact we aren’t neither flawed nor weak, we’re sick and we need medical attention, we need help, and we can get better,” Trudeau said.

The CMHA says they’ve seen a turn in the last number of years as more people have shared their stories like Margaret Trudeau did today. 

“It’s made it safe for people to connect with services, it’s made it safe for people to talk about what’s truly going on for them, and when people have that information and that knowledge and that power it makes it much more normalized,” Mullaly said.