A mother on a mission to advocate for mental health

Grief is a heavy and difficult weight to carry.

Louann Link’s son’s ashes rest in a necklace near her heart. His smile flashes across the 15th hole at River Hills Golf Club in Clyde River where he loved to play.

“It’s actually good to come here,” said David Link, looking at his son’s memorial bench on the 15th hole.

The Link family’s lives forever changed on Aug. 1, 2021 -- the day 27-year-old Jevon Patrick Link, the middle son in the family, died by suicide.

“We’ve got to live the rest of our life without him,” Louann said, breaking down into tears. “And that’s the hardest thing of all.”

They’re haunted by the what-ifs.

“I believe Jevon died because of the lack of health care,” the mother said.

Louann described Jevon as a fun-loving compassionate guy who was too hard on himself.

In December 2020, she said Jevon noticed he wasn’t sleeping or eating well and was acting different.

As a nurse herself, she knew something was wrong and took her son to Yarmouth’s hospital.

“They gave him medication and we left,” she said.

A few days later, Louann said Jevon returned the hospital to seek help, but this time, he was accompanied by friends.

“They were going to release him and they said, ‘He needs help. You need to keep him.’” she said.

About 24 hours later, Jevon was released.

In the months that followed, Louann said her son was on medication that could cause suicidal ideation but received little follow-up.

“They did telephone calls with him a few times in February. That wasn’t enough. He needed a one-on-one. He needed a face-on-face,” Louann said.

Privacy laws protected her son’s medical information. It also meant Louann and her husband David were mostly kept in the dark.

“We could’ve gone and got mental health somewhere. We could’ve done it privately but that’s not fair to someone else who doesn’t have the money to do that,” she said.

On July 26, a few days before her son died, Louann said she called the psychiatrist who then called her son.

“I see him spiralling out of control. He called and he said he wasn’t suicidal,” Louann said. “How can you make that assessment when he hadn’t seen him since December 2020?”

CALLING FOR CHANGE

Through her heartbreak, the mother is advocating for change.

She spoke out at a recent public meeting with the province about health care.

Louann founded the “Let your Light Shine Jevon Link Society” to raise awareness and money for people who need to access private care.

She’s sold popcorn and cotton candy, held memorial golf and hockey tournaments and supported others through grief groups.

Jevon’s friends have also fundraised for the cause by growing mustaches and managed to raise thousands of dollars.

Her friend Mary Dawn Greenwood has been by her side every step.

“It’s amazing she wants to provide good out of something that was so tragic,” Greenwood said. “What she’s doing is amazing to watch.”

Louann wants to see more mental-health resources in her community wants that care to take place outside of emergency departments.

“Why don’t they send a mobile mental-health clinic down here until they can get a clinic built?” she said.

The mother is driven not just by pain, but a desire to prevent.

“I don’t want someone to follow the same trail that our family has gone on because it’s not very good,” she said, “It’s emotionally hard on all of us.”

She carries grief in her heart but also hope that change and ending the stigma around mental health is possible.

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS IN HER COMMUNITY

Nova Scotia’s Office of Addictions and Mental Health recognized mental health and addictions services across the province need to continue expanding.

“We are committed to making this happen,” said Khelehla Perrault, a spokesperson with the province.

She noted Nova Scotia has launched several new programs including a province-wide peer support line and a new internet cognitive therapy program called Tranquility that people can access anytime.

Nova Scotia Health said individuals and families in the Clarks Harbour and Clyde River areas can access a continuum of mental health and addictions programs (MHAP) including an intake service available Monday to Friday that has voicemail on evenings and weekends.

MHAP has community clinics in the Yarmouth Regional and at Roseway hospital in Shelburne.

“We will have office hours in Barrington Passage in the near future,” a Nova Scotia Health (NSH) spokesperson said.

“Treatment may include individual or group therapy and occurs in clinics, schools and in community.”

NSH also highlighted its peer support telephone service available to anyone experiencing mental health or substance use concerns and said Emergency Departments are open 24/7 for people in a psychiatric emergency.

Virtual mental health and addiction (MHA) services are available by clinicians at Roseway Hospital.

“We are working on a plan to enhance access to MHA services through virtual consultation for people living in more rural communities across the province,” the NSH spokesperson said.

Mental Health Addictions Program Intake Service: 1-855-922-1122.

Peer Support Telephone Service: 1-800-307-1686.

MHAP Provincial Mental Health Crisis Line is available 24/7 to anyone experiencing mental health and /or addiction crisis by calling 1-888-429-8167.