It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of the loss of a friend and Stigma-Free Society colleague, Jaime Traynor. On behalf of the Stigma-Free Society, and its Board of Directors, we offer our support and condolences to her family and friends at this difficult time.
Jaime facilitated our Society’s Women’s Peer Support Group for nearly 3 years and attended the group every week over a 5 year period. She was a true champion for those experiencing mental illness. Jaime was so wonderful and very dedicated to the cause of selflessly helping others. She was a ray of sunshine I knew I had to hire immediately to lead our peer support group. She was loved by the group’s members and I am so grateful for her contribution to the Stigma-Free Society, which will never be forgotten.
Here is a link to Jaime’s bio on our website for those of you who did not know her personally: https://stigmafreesociety.com/sfs-team/
While we experience our own loss, we share in the loss experienced by her family and friends. We are a community, and in a community, we need to come together when we face pain. In honour of Jaime’s great contribution, there will not be any pause in our support offerings and we, in fact, encourage more people to attend online with the group, with so many of us requiring mental health support during this time.
You may want to reach out immediately for support if you need someone to talk to. As part of our Stigma Free response to this tragedy, we want to ensure that you know where you can reach out for help.
On Vancouver Island, please know that you can call or text the Vancouver Island Crisis Line at 1 (888) 494-3888 or you can text/chat at: https://www.vicrisis.ca/. They have been made aware of our recent loss and the significance of losing a peer leader. There is also a crisis line in Vancouver if people need to reach out and talk to someone there for support at: https://crisiscentre.bc.ca/
Please remember that you are not alone. You are part of our community, and we are here to support you.
Author, Andrea Paquette, President and Co-Founder, Stigma-Free Society
