Melanie’s Story
For years, Family Service PEI has been a lifeline for Islanders navigating mental health challenges. As the province’s only community-based counselling service, it offers both in-person and virtual support to those who need it most.
Through a longstanding partnership with United Way of PEI, Family Service PEI can provide subsidized therapeutic counselling, ensuring cost is never a barrier to care.
For Melanie, that support was life-changing.
After years of untreated depression, chronic illness, and medical trauma, she found herself at a breaking point. A referral to Family Service PEI marked the beginning of a new chapter: one built on healing, resilience, and reconnection.
“In therapy, I realized I wasn’t just dealing with a physical illness,” she recalls. “I was grieving—the life I used to have, the energy I relied on, the version of myself I had lost.”
With support, Melanie began to process that grief and rebuild her sense of self. A wooden giraffe named Matilda became her symbol. Baby giraffes fall six feet at birth; a difficult but necessary fall that helps them take their first breath and, within an hour, stand tall.
“That stayed with me,” Melanie says. “When life feels overwhelming, I remind myself: breathe, stand tall, and look up.”
The impact of Family Service PEI extends far beyond individual sessions. It provides essential support in a province where affordable mental health care remains a challenge.
Thanks to donor generosity, United Way of PEI is helping more Islanders access the tools they need to not just survive, but thrive.
“I’m here because of that support,” says Melanie. “It gave me a lifeline when I needed it most.”
