Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and committee members. Thank you very much for having us here today. I'm Cyndi Muise and I'm a peer support coordinator in Calgary and southern Alberta.
I was born and raised in rural Labrador, in a hamlet called Pinware, with a population of 150. I joined the regular force in October 1990 as a cook, immediately following high school. After training, my first posting was at CFB Chilliwack in British Columbia with 1 Combat Engineer Regiment, or 1 CER. With 1 CER I deployed to Croatia in 1992 and 1993 on Operation Harmony. In 1994 I returned to Bosnia. In 1995 I was posted to CFB Esquimalt on the mighty warships HMCS Protector, HMCS Algonquin, and HMCS Huron, where I did many deployments with them as well. In 2002 I was diagnosed with PTSD as a result of my military service overseas. I was medically released from the CF in 2004 with PTSD, completing 14 years of service.
I started volunteering with this very rewarding, great program in Victoria in 2004. Before I started volunteering, though, I must say, I was a peer. So I started out as a peer with the OSISS program in Esquimalt; then I became a volunteer, and in 2006 I was offered the position in Calgary as a peer support coordinator, because there was only one person in the whole of the province at the time, in Edmonton.
I attend part-time university classes with a future goal of working in public relations. I am married, with one 11-year-old child, and I really love my job.
Thank you.