Yvonne Craig:
CLASS OF 1989
Chatham Kent Secondary High SchoolClass of 1989
Chatham, ON
Leamington High SchoolClass of 1990
Leamington, ON
Anderdon Public SchoolClass of 1990
Amherstburg, ON
Westmount Elementary SchoolClass of 1990
Moose jaw, SK
John N. Given Public SchoolClass of 1990
Chatham, ON
Yvonne's Story
My story is complicated. But the short of it is....I didn't have the supports I needed to succeed. So, I fell short of everything. I married in lieu of a
post-secondary education (my father said there was no money for school unless I worked). I had 2 children before the marriage began to unravel. My former husband is a Jekyl & Hyde. He became more abberant in his behaviour & violent all the time. He borders on sociopath/pedophile or just some twisted, deviant sexual addict. I had 3 children within my marriage. My father died of cancer in 1996. I've always been an only child so after the demise of my marriage, betrayal by in-laws which effectively cost me my family....I lost a life for a man. Now, all that's left is me & my mom. My mom has a severe mood disorder (bi-polar or something). She abused me my entire life but excuses it due to her illness. Our relationship is different now, but it's extremely difficult as she is hyper-critical of me & continues to be very verbally abusive toward me. She's prone to hyper-anxiety & will take "fits" on me....it's complicated dealing with "mental health" & even more so when because of our "poor" status in life we are semi-dependent on each other. Her more so, because I'm her daughter so she feels I have an obligatory duty to her & she is now a senior. I've been battling many years in Court over custody/access of my children after egregious failures by incompetent legal counsel locked everything into the law. In 2003 I became a
"self-proclaimed" Child Welfare advocate...lobbying Gov't & becoming somewhat politically active. I network with the Afterfostercare Council of Canada. I tried launching a website (of my own) but it failed. I continue to participate in research & activisim for Social Reform, Justice Reform & Child Protective reform. I wish I could do things in a greater format in the interests of public education...but I find just in the every day little things I do, I am passing along the message & touching peoples lives...that in itself is "educating". I became a "born again" Christian probably in 2005. None of this would have been possible without having faith. Faith has been my anchor. The things I've learnt about the human psyche...I've suffered such tremendous loss...not just my family, but other personal relationships & material effects. I've faced abject poverty & twice the threat of homelessness. The economy here is devastated. While I don't profes...Expand for more
s to have much I now at "peace". All the abuses have stopped but at horrific cost. In public school & highschool you had NO IDEA what I was enduring at home.
In 2006 my 3 1/2 year common-law relationship bit the dirt. It was unfortunate. That was a huge blow as well. I'd really connected to him. I've been single for almost 2 years, you could say....haven't dated in a year by personal choice. Lets just say...it's a world of "self-servitude" out there & it doesn't "click" with me. I want something meaningful with somebody, not just a casual hook-up. I've still got a bit of that "highschool" reckless side. I recently got 2 tattoos...& I caught total hell for it from my mom & my daughter, who has a navel piercing (she got it for her 14th birthday...I had no control over it, her not being in my care & custody). My daughter thinks the little tattoo on my neck is great, but she's upset with me over the second one. Go figure.
I'm not sure what else to say...except, in conclusion, my family moved to Leamington in 1989 after grade
12 @ CKSS. I've been in Leamington ever since...except for the 2 years I lived in North Bay with my husband & daughter (1994-1996). My second child was born in North Bay (1995). Today (2008) I keep busy with volunteerism. I love working with people, especially children. I help with a school literacy program hosted by Frontier College. I continue to volunteer with Coats for Kids every year (this year will be my 5th). I consider my advocacy work as a volunteer venture too. I was employed for quite a bit in the Sales & Marketing sector...but it's a competetive, market driven industry & things have REALLY slacked off. I generally counter-balance with other piecework, seasonal factory stuff (H. J. Heinz Company)....but Essex County has been riddled with manufacturing job losses. Just this month, hundreds of people were permanently let go from one of Leamington's biggest factories (Plastech). It was all over the news about the American Company who owns it going bankrupt. Leamington lost KUS (a piston plant for the BIG 3) in 2005. Anyone's lucky to find anything. I manage to get by. I just don't have transportation, which makes employability next to impossible, & I don't have $$$ for miscellaneous entertainment, therefore I tend to stay home alot....Now summer is here, I can go play at the beach....cycle to the conservation areas. That makes for a nice time & nature doesn't charge (lol).
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