Mothers, We Hear You

Our 2022 Mother Rising survey invited mothers and caregivers to tell us how they’ve been impacted over the last two years, and what they need to rise. Thanks to the many who’ve shared the testimonials below. Your voices will help to inform future policy and advocacy actions.

“I am at my limit. There is too much expected of people with dependents. You are burning out an entire generation of people. Something needs to change.”

“Better pay would help enormously. Always feels like we’re living on the edge of poverty. The cost of living continues to rise but wages don’t keep up, how are we supposed to make ends meet? As soon as we start to make any gains, they’re taken away by ‘inflation’. The pandemic has stolen my savings.”

“My child has significant mental health issues. I don’t know that they were necessarily made worse by the pandemic – but the pandemic has made accessing services more challenging. And feels isolating.”

“I fear that I will burn out to the point where I will not be able to return to my profession.”

“My mental health is at the limit. If I am not doing paid work, I am doing unpaid work around the house. There is no time for self care or my relationship.”

“Meeting the demands of parenting in a pandemic have been unrealistic. My children were at home teaching each other remotely while I was at work from 8am to 8pm. I’d come home, make dinner, then help my children with school work until 11pm. I’ve never been more emotionally and physically exhausted in my life.”

“As newcomers, we have no familial support system locally so we have done our research and exhausted the public services available. Now we are just drowning and no one cares … They have no understanding of how much more isolated we have been because of our immigration situation.”

“After 20 years working in healthcare, the last 2-3 years in my field of work has become detrimental to my mental and emotional health.”

“The cost of living, housing and food affects my ability to leave an unhealthy marriage. It affects the quality of life for my kids and myself.”

“I am a single First Nations parent of 2 young children. I have no support it’s been quite the year so far. My mental health has finally been acknowledged and it’s only because I had a melt down … there is like a 2-3 month wait before seeing a counsellor or psychologist.”

“I can’t go anywhere now with mask mandates having been lifted. I have an infant who is high risk so this means that my partner is my only social connection because friends and family aren’t being safe anymore. It’s incredibly isolating and it’s been terrible for my mental health.”

“My role as a single mother got tripled as I managed three kids under the age of 15 from home and tried to sustain a consistent pay cheque.”