We are IH is a recognition campaign to spotlight Interior Health employees and medical staff – through pictures and stories.

Name: Amara Stangeland

Job Title: Registered Nurse, Adolescent Psychiatry

Years of Service: 2

Worksite: Kelowna General Hospital

Community: Kelowna

Ancestral Territory: Syilx (Saay-ilks) / Okanagan Interior Salish

COVID-19 has impacted each of us in many ways. One of the areas that we are monitoring closely is mental health. Mental health affects all of us.

As we mark the 70^th annual Mental Health Awareness Week I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize the toll that the ongoing pandemic is having on people’s feelings of stress, loneliness, and anxiety.

Marilyn Parker’s health-care journey has given her a unique perspective on how volunteers can improve the health system. At 40, she was diagnosed with asthma and now has epilepsy and is a chronic care patient. After moving to Kamloops, she had great difficulty finding a family doctor and learned the value of directing her own health and using tools like MyHealthPortal to access her personal health information record.

We are honoured to share this submission for Mental Health Awareness Week from Kamloops-based nurse Shanoa Enns. On the surface Shanoa had everything - an exciting new career in nursing, a new partner, tons of friends and a loving family. But as her mental health declined, she found herself in a dark place. It was through reaching out that she was able to heal. Now she is committed to helping others reach out too, by sharing her story...