Island naval reservist part of effort to build PTSD centre

A naval reservist from P.E.I. is part of a team of people trying to start a support and rehabilitation house for veterans and others with PTSD near Halifax. After 16 years in the navy, Mia Lynch is following her passion with the next stage of her life.

Mia Lynch spent 16 years in the navy and like many service members, the 32-year-old from Tignish, P.E.I., suffers from PTSD.

Just find their passion and their self-worth again.— Mia Lynch

Lynch is an executive assistant with the Society of Atlantic Heroes, a charitable group that wants to build a $20-million facility to offer support and treatment for veterans, police officers and first responders with PTSD. It would house 10 to 15 people.

'We feel ashamed'

Lynch was silent about her struggles for a long time for fear of consequences at work. And, there are expectations that military personnel be tough, she said. 

"We've all signed up to help people, so asking for help for ourselves is something that we can't really comprehend and we feel ashamed," Lynch said.

A centre like this would have made "a world of difference" for her, she said. 

"You just try to fight through it and say, 'Whatever, I'm strong enough,' and try to pretend it's not fazing us. But if there's a facility like this and we know others like us are there, and we know we're going to be understood, it'd be a lot easier to go."

'A smell, sound, voice' can trigger bad memories

Lynch, a naval combat information operator who has been stationed in Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Ontario, will receive a medical discharge in September. 

Having PTSD is "tricky" because it doesn't take much to trigger someone, she said.

"It could be a smell, a sound, a voice, something they see. Going to sleep is tough because usually when you go to sleep, the dreams start, or nightmares."

She has attempted suicide twice, she said.

'We're worth something'

Battling for PTSD sufferers motivates her to carry on, she said.

"It's just fighting to prove that we're not crazy and that we're worth something. We're worth fighting for. For those who can't fight for themselves right now, I want to fight for them."

The society has access to a Halifax apartment donated by Killam that can be used by families of first responders while they get treatment, but Lynch said that's not enough because there's no nurse or actual care on site.

The third stage of the plan, after the apartment and a support centre, is to create a campus with housing to help people reintegrate into society, Lynch said.

"It will help them figure out what they want to do — what are their goals, what are their skills? And try to get them into school or get them a job — just find their passion and their self-worth again." 

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