My name is Don and I am 26 years old. I’m originally from Burundi, but for almost six years, I have lived in Toronto, Canada. I am the eldest of five kids, with one brother and three sisters. I came to Canada with my younger brother and sister while my mother and two sisters stayed in Burundi.
The whole move was a huge adjustment for myself. Before the rest of my family joined us in Canada, I was hospitalized for symptoms of schizophrenia for two months. I did not know what schizophrenia was before I was hospitalized. After this hospitalization happened, my case worker referred me to Progress Place.
The biggest way that Progress Place, and specifically the Young Adult program, helped me was that it allowed me to meet and socialize with people and become friends. It was nice to interact with other people who have a mental health diagnosis because it made me normalize my experience.
We do movie nights, relax, and go on outings in the community as a group which made it more fun to experience. Every Tuesday, I attend the young adult luncheon where we would share parts of our mind, stories, plan outings, and play games together.
I used to DJ in Burundi and I even make my own beats now. Progress Place has allowed me to DJ music for the Clubhouse which I find really relaxing and empowering. I also like learning and working on the Progress Place podcast and audio visual projects, such as the stop-motion video and this blog! It’s been my first time doing a lot of these projects but there have been so many helpful people around me and I am enjoying the process.