UNIVERSITY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
UPEI nursing students holding book drive for PEI Provincial Addiction Treatment Centre

The idea arose from accelerated nursing student Marie Thibault-Messier's experience during a six-week clinical placement at the PATF earlier this semester. During her time at the centre, she noticed that clients had access to movies on DVD and VHS tapes but not a lot of reading material.

"People who are undergoing detoxification can find it hard to occupy their minds when they are not taking part in treatment activities," said Thibault-Messier. "The same situation can occur when they move to the transitional unit."

During her placement, she identified some gaps in what is available to PATF clients.

"I often saw clients with books that their family brought in for them, but that made me sad for those without that support while they were going through the detoxification process," she said. "Whether it is escapism or recovery-oriented resources, I wanted reading material to be available for all clients in the PATF."

Thibault-Messier met with staff at the PATF and PEI's Mental Health and Addictions Service about the idea of holding a book drive, and they accepted it. She then approached the nursing student society - they loved the idea and agreed to participate.

Andrew Clow, a third-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing student and co-president of the UPEI Nursing Student Society, also did a placement at the PATF this semester and agrees with Thibault-Messier about the benefits of providing books to PATF clients.

"When Marie came to us with the idea of a holiday book drive, we were really interested," he said. "The book drive is an excellent idea for clients at the PATF, but it's also a great community outreach project for our nursing students. Helping people is what the nursing profession is all about."

With the guidance of Sydney Gaudet,  assistant professor of nursing, the students came up with a plan to promote the project and collect the reading and other materials.

Thibault-Messier said they felt it important to consider the needs of specific populations, such as the Indigenous and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, when planning the book drive. With assistance from Gaudet, she connected with the UPEI Department of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Human Rights (EDIHR) and the Mawi'omi Indigenous Student Centre, which provided her with many resources to help procure the best recovery-oriented material for those groups.

"Equity, diversity, and inclusion were important to us going into this initiative, as feeling represented and seen is imperative to addiction recovery," she said. "EDIHR and the Mawi'omi Indigenous Student Centre have both been very supportive of this initiative and offered their partnership as needed."

Leslie Warren, director of acute and complex care for mental health and addictions, Health PEI, said the book drive will add to the options available to clients in the PATF.

"Reading can help our clients fill time when they are not in programming or other activities and escape from intrusive thoughts," she said. "It's comforting and relaxing."

Books, puzzles, and board games will be accepted until December 17. Donation boxes have been set up in the Faculty of Nursing Lounge, second floor, Health Sciences Building, and in the lobby of the Robertson Library.