Maggie's Story

Portrait of Maggie from her 24karatrealtor blog

MAGGIE MACGILLIVRAY is the picture of a strong, professional woman. She’s a single mom of three, runs an ambitious, all women real estate team, owns investment properties, her dream home and has a killer wardrobe to boot. She’s the epitome of success and she also lives with mental illness.

“My entire life I’ve suffered crippling anxiety,” reveals MacGillivray. “I missed a lot of my high school years because of it. It limited me in a lot of ways. I didn’t drive for many years. I also dealt with eating disorders and I didn’t talk to anyone about it because I felt I had to hide it.”

Three years ago Maggie decided enough was enough. She confronted her demons head-on. She showed up in tears at her mother’s apartment with her three children and a blow-up mattress determined to begin living the life she knew she deserved.

Today MacGillivray is a successful real estate agent with Royal LePage and manages the all-female team, Golden Realty Group. She shares her story of awakening and resiliency through her honest and candid blog, 24 Karat Realtor. It’s a message she’ll be taking to the stage on March 15, 2019 as part of A Different Stage of Mind in support of The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia.

Maggie says her involvement has allowed her to open up a conversation she didn’t know she needed to have, with an audience she didn’t know she had. Since revealing her own experience with anxiety and eating disorders, numerous people have confided in her about their own struggles. MacGillivray says that has opened her eyes to how much work still needs to be done to change the way people think and shed the stigma associated with mental illness.

““Disorders like these get much worse in the dark.
The more we can talk about, the easier it is to heal.””

— Maggie MacGillivray

When asked how she’s feeling about her singing debut, she admits she’s quite nervous but is choosing to look at it through a positive lens. It’s an outlook she’s adopted since walking through adversity and coming out stronger on the other side. She hopes facing her fears head-on will allow others to see that living with a mental illness isn’t a weakness, it’s a sign of strength.

“If someone who deals with social anxiety can throw on a wig and get on a stage in front of hundreds of people, I think it will show people they have great capacity to overcome and deal with their struggles.”

An attitude of perseverance indicative of a strong and capable woman who’s not only committed to building a real estate empire, but a community of support for those living with mental illness.

Planting Seeds of Success

David DeWolfe lives with mental illness and complications from diabetes and relies on Seeds of Success to help him and others in the program live their best lives. “I’m so grateful to the program for bringing joy and purpose to our lives. Through gardening therapy, arts and crafts, talk groups, amazing therapists and volunteers the Seeds of Success program gives us a forum to share our feelings, our anger and our hopes. This program has saved my life. It helps me forget about my pain,” says David.

Seeds of Success takes place at Northwood’s long-term care facility in Halifax and is so much more than just a support group. It’s a place where residents living with mental illness can feel at home.

“It gives people a purpose and a feeling of real accomplishment,” says Faye LeBlanc of the Northwood Foundation. Seeds of Success was started because there was a real need in the facility for a group that dealt with the realities of mental illness in long-term care.

Models for Mental Health 2018

Seeds helps residents deal with feelings of hopelessness, depression, grief and more through art therapy, socialization, gardening and meaningful engagement,” says Faye. The centre is open four days a week, but there is a real need for Seeds seven days a week. That’s why the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia is working with several consignment boutiques across the city to hold the inaugural Models for Mental Health fundraiser in support of Seeds of Success.

Models for Mental Health is being organized and chaired by Stephanie Graham owner of The Perfect Fit consignment shop in Bedford. “Northwood gave me a call and asked if I would help out and I couldn’t say no,” says Stephanie.

Stephanie Graham

Models for Mental Health Chair

Stephanie, who also lives with mental illness has been a mental health advocate for the last ten years and has a passion for helping others. “For me the cause and fun have to go hand and hand and that’s why Models for Mental Health is perfect. It’ll be a fun event for everyone.”

“We’re so grateful to everyone involved with Models for Mental for Health for believing in Seeds of Success and helping to raise money for this vital program,” says Faye.

Seeds of Success is made possible with the support of community members and a grant from the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia. But it needs more help to not only survive but thrive. “It’s my hope Models for Mental Health becomes a yearly fundraiser for Seeds and the program grows and grows,” says Stephanie.

“The ripple effect of Seeds of Success can’t be measured, it has such a positive and lasting impact on all the residents of Northwood and their families. Every organizer, volunteer and attendee of Models for Mental Health is really making a big difference in the lives of so many people,” says Faye.

Cultivating Mental Health

Compass Group Canada is proud to extend its recipe for success into our greater community through the Compass Group Canada Community Grant. Every year great people, great service and great results. supports educational programs that focus on healthy eating and food preparation for Nova Scotians who are living with mental illness. In 2015-16, the grant supported two initiatives across the province: Hinchinbrook Farm Society’s We Dig Food program, and Veith House Community Kitchen’s Large Appliance Installation project.

We Dig Food

We Dig Food is based out of a garden at Hinchinbrook Farm in Blockhouse. Hinchinbrook Farm hosts a wide range of programs designed to provide sensory stimulation for children and young people living with mental challenges through outdoor experiences, such as therapeutic horseback riding. The garden has created a new opportunity to diversify the range of experiences offered to the children.

Children have participated in everything from choosing seeds to planting them, raising crops, harvesting and cooking with produce. Many of the children live with Autism Spectrum Disorder and benefit directly from the peaceful environment; the wide range of colours, tastes and smells; and the countless learning opportunities created by the garden.

Compass Group Canada Community Grant funding has enabled We Dig Food to add more plots, increase the variety of foods grown, and increase the number of people who can participate. The team has been able to build more frame arbor structures for climbing vines and shelter, and jam and jelly production has been added to programming.

Luke, a young adult with Autism and Keratoconus (a degenerative disease of the cornea), has enjoyed being part of seeing something grow. His mother comments that this program provides a new recreational activity for him that did not exist before.

“This grant provides a physical activity focusing on one of the things Luke enjoys the most – food! He loves the social interaction with others in the activity and he enjoys harvesting the fresh vegetables to eat. This activity makes Luke happy and gives him something to look forward to every week.

Jaime, 15, benefits from the stress reduction provided by the garden. Her life is impacted by SCN1A-Like Variant Dravet Syndrome, a type of Epilepsy. Her condition contributes to isolation, anxiety and memory loss.

At We Dig Food, she has taken part in seeding, planting, weeding, maintenance, harvesting, baking, hand pollination and selling vegetables at the Farmers Market. She also achieved her Gardening Badge for Scouts.

Her mother says: “Jaime loves watching things grow. She started eating salads, beans, and zucchini and now drinks herbal teas. She made chocolate zucchini cake, salad dressings, and pizza from garden produce. She’s changed her diet for the better and she has a sense of accomplishment and has considered gardening as a future career, whereas before she had no interests for her future.”

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Veith House Community Kitchen

“We want to make visits to Veith House comforting and welcoming, and next to a smile, food is the next most effective way to show people that they are welcome.
We have all sorts of dreams for how to use the kitchen. There are lots of ways that we can work to support food security in North End Halifax.”

Veith House has been a North End Halifax institution for 45 years. Today it is a neighbourhood hub that provides services and opportunities to Halifax residents, connecting them with one another to build a healthier, more vibrant community. Veith House programs and services focus on three pillars: healthy minds, healthy bodies, and healthy relationships.

The Veith House Community Kitchen and Garden project began in 2013 to ensure physical activity and healthy eating opportunities were available to all community members. In early 2015, the kitchen was half-complete, but it still lacked a range and an under-counter industrial dishwasher.

Functional upgrades to Veith House’s Kitchen

Through a Compass Group Canada Community Grant, these items were purchased. Having a functional community kitchen onsite provides significant opportunities for Veith House service users as young as three years old who cook and bake with the preschool director and a parent volunteer. The kitchen is also used to prepare food for community meals that aim to bring neighbours together, create a sense of belonging and reduce social isolation. Trustee and counseling clients who benefited from last year's vegetable garden will have the opportunity to learn how to use home grown food and prepare nutritious and budget-wise food for themselves and their families.

“We're regularly offering food - instead of just coffee and tea - and aiming to also have food available on stressful days,” says Lisa Roberts, Executive Director.

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