Chatham-Kent is in my blood. I was born here, raised here in former-Raleigh township.

 I went to school here; spent my teenage years and my early-twenties here, complaining about how little there is to do, but always finding ways to have fun.

I watched my uncle become the last mayor of Chatham, and the first mayor of Chatham-Kent here. I watched my dad try to pick up the pieces where he left-off; maybe in an attempt to maintain the legacy of logic my uncle built, or maintain the connection the Erickson name has within this community.  Both are valid.

I met my husband here, and built a life with him here. We owned houses here, we paid taxes here, we watched the municipality change and grow together here. We raised our son together here with the hopes he'd experience the Chatham-Kent we grew up with.

I had careers here in journalism, public relations, finance, sales, and governance. I volunteered for multiple organizations over the years, and spent countless hours promoting Chatham-Kent to anyone who'd listen.

I lost my father, mother, and husband here, and navigated our incredibly flawed and complicated medical system here. I sold what was supposed to be our "forever home" here, and became a renter again in 2022.

I struggled here, trying to find consistent mental health care for something everyone goes through - loss. I struggled to find employment that could support my son and myself here, and struggled just using the systems that are supposed to be in place to help - not even save - people here.

I could no longer maintain the life I built here, and lost almost everything I built here. I lost friends and family when I lost my former life, but never lost who I was.

As an educated, self-professed informed citizen of Chatham-Kent, even I didn't see the problems here, until I became a part of them.

After almost a year of housing and employment instability, I've learned more about how our social service systems work (and don't work), I've become acutely aware of the barriers presented to those in lower income classes, and I've seen directly how hard it is to just "work harder."

I lost everything here, and decided to re-build here.

I'm doing this to make sure there's still a future here.