Stacy Middlemiss
Facebook: Councillor Stacy Middlemiss
Instagram: instagram.com/councillor_stacymiddlemiss
Are you associated with or running as part of a slate? If so, which one?
No
Do you live in the municipality where you are running, and if so, for how long? If not, what is your connection to that community?
No, but I live close enough to be on Duncan water. I chose Duncan council because I feel that the downtown core is where I have the most to contribute my experiences.
What is your occupation, and for how long?
I have been a Registered Pyschiatric Nurse for 5 years.
Tell us about your previous elected and/or community experience.
When I see the need for something in my community, I bring people together to create it. Some of my achievements being “Caring with Cookies” – providing homemade cookies to thousands of unhoused people ; Stigmatized: The Reality of Addiction – an opportunity for people in recovery to share their stories; Stigmatized - an interactive exhibit allowing people to experience the daily reality of being homeless; Street School – giving a minority population a voice. All of these events required collaboration with community partners and the public. In 2018, with no political experience, I was elected to Duncan council.
Why are you running? What’s your motivation?
As a mother, I want to do what I can to ensure the health and safety of our community. I want to lead by example in showing them that in order to see change, we have to be part of the solution. It is important to speak up for the issues that we believe in and to listen to others and be able to speak up for them when they do not feel they have a voice. It is also imperative that younger generations are being represented during decisions that will affect the future of our community.
What are your top three issues?
To me, it’s not about what my top issues are. We all know and feel the effects of the multiple crisis we are facing- mental health & substance use, opioid poisoning crisis, doctor and nursing shortages, changing climate, lack of affordable and subsidized housing options for low income seniors and people with disabilities to name a few. All of these issues combined have placed a heavy burden on our community’s overall health and well-being and our local businesses and economy. All of these issues are intertwined and need to be looked at as a whole instead of individually.
What’s your vision for your community in 25 years?
It is imperative that Duncan remains a safe and affordable place that both younger families starting out, like mine, and those who are looking to retire after a lifetime of contributing to the community, want to stay and play in. My vision involves everyone having access to quality education, a safe and healthy home, meaningful and fair wage employment, access to nutritious food and clean drinking water, and quality health care that recognizes mental health and physical health as one in the same.
What’s one “big idea” you have for your community?
I would like to be part of creating a community where housing is available to everyone and to do that, a variety of innovative options are needed. I would like an option for seniors that allows them to transition to more complex care within the same building. Options for young adults living on their own for the first time, parents leaving abusive relationships, people who are newly widowed, kids aging out of foster care, seniors with no savings and/or no access to family support – they could all use some level of support to improve their chances at living a healthy and happy life and they could also benefit from supporting one another within the same building.
