Hello, My name is Danielle, and I’m so jazzed to be facilitating Starlings Community's new peer group: Murmuration Conversations. I'm hopeful it will be a special space for us to hear one another, be together in solidarity, ask the hard questions, learn, and grow.
So a little about me: I come from a small town in Southwestern Ontario, and currently live in a different small town about two hours from where I grew up. I have lived in many hard places and learned a lot on the way. Like many who will be joining our group discussions, I have lived a life experiencing the stress and stigma of both parents’ substance use. This has caused a lot of difficulty and undoubtedly has led to experiences I would not do-over in any lifetime.
It has also taught me what it means to love, to hope, and to have grace. Loving my parents through their challenges came with great difficulty and many tears, and has led to an interesting relationship now.
Thankfully, I have a fantastic support system consisting of my husband, found family (my friends, who I love dearly), my clinical supports, this group and Agnes, and all the other people who simply treat me nicely in the day-to-day. I don’t know where I would be without them, especially as I’ve transitioned into adulthood.
Adulthood brought a lot about for me, I had no idea what I was in for. As a teenager, I was a competitive wrestler, rugby player, musician, and artist. I’ve loved biology and physics from my teen years, and I’ve always enjoyed creative hobbies and activities. I am a lifelong learner. Now, in my later twenties, I’ve got two college diplomas down (the first in my family to graduate high school), and I’m currently completing my degree in Disability Studies. Along the way I have taken a special interest in Mad Studies, as I hold both identities very closely.
I am physically Disabled and currently use crutches to walk. I identify as being Mad, or, what might make more sense to say is that I live with what’s been called a “serious mental illness” which has traits of depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Symptoms related to my Madness did not begin to appear until my later teens, and did not really amp up until my early-mid twenties which is when I began receiving medical treatment.
Mad activists seek acceptance within society of who they are, rather than being seen as a problem to be fixed or seeking inclusion within a broken system.
Given the nature of my medical treatment, I hold complex, controversial views on care and what it means to support someone. I do not practice or believe in carceral care, and I work as much as I can from an anti-colonial, trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, curious mindset which allows for mistakes, understanding, firm boundaries, and second-chances, hoping to receive the same from others but knowing that it’s not always possible for them.
I wish for a brighter future, outside of the confines of capitalism and borders and all the rest which holds us in place. It is my hope to always grow interdependence, care and community.
I think this group, Murmuration Conversations is so necessary, and honestly, I think that we need more of them available. There are too few spaces where honesty is accepted, and where questions can be asked without fear of judgement or unrest over it. I hope members of this group come and find some peace, health, and community because I believe we find these things when we work together.
The more we cultivate safety for and with each other, the more we can build each other up to minimize the stress and stigma of a parent’s substance use.
Danielle, Starlings Peer
What's Starlings Murmuration Conversations?
Our murmuration conversations are for our peers passionate about social justice who are eager to meaningfully connect and reflect with respect on current events that intersect with our experiences of growing up with the stress and stigma of a parent's substance use.
Monthly sessions for our peers to meaningfully connect and reflect with respect.
Watched the news and were triggered by what you heard? Read a research paper that intrigued you (for good or worse)? Excited or dissappointed over a new initiative or project that you heard about that will affect our community?
Starlings Murmuration Conversations is a brave space for our peers who are eager to meaningfully connect and reflect with respect on current events that intersect with the experiences of growing up with the stress and stigma of a parent’s substance use.
Our first session starts September 24th, and in the spirit of "Recovery Week", we will be discussing what recovery means to you, using real world examples and current events.
At the end of each session, particpants will provide and vote on the next months topic of conversation.
Did you watch the news and were triggered by what you heard?
Read a research paper that intrigued you (for good or worse)?
Excited or disappointed over a new initiative or project that you heard about that will affect our community?
Starlings Murmuration Conversations is a brave space for our peers who are eager to meaningfully connect and reflect with respect on current events that intersect with the experiences of growing up with the stress and stigma of a parent’s substance use.
Our first session starts September 24th, and in the spirit of "Recovery Week", we will be discussing what recovery means to you, using real world examples and current events.
At the end of each session, particpants will provide and vote on the next months topic of conversation.
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