Issue #7: Unfolding Stories

This newsletter shares peer stories that may touch on sensitive themes. While we hope these stories offer inspiration and connection, please remember that the Little Light Community Collective is not a mental health or crisis service. 

Our content is based on personal lived experience and isn't a substitute for professional medical advice. Please take care of yourself as you read, and if you need professional support, we encourage you to reach out to a qualified provider or your local crisis service.

Quote

“Stories are the communal currency of humanity.” - Terry Tempest Williams

Opening Note

Dear friends,

Welcome to the seventh edition of the Little Light Newsletter! I’m so grateful you’re here and joining us on this journey.

Storytelling.

Storytelling has always held a special place in my heart. From a young age, I found myself drawn to writing, from poems and songs to stories of all kinds. Over time, I discovered how healing it could be to put our experiences into words. I’ve also found so much peace, inspiration, and connection in hearing the stories of others, especially the stories that remind us that we aren’t alone in what we’re carrying.

That feeling is at the heart of why the Little Light Community Collective was created. I wanted to create a safe and welcoming space where people could share the pieces of their journeys that have shaped them and where someone reading on the other side might find a spark of hope. I believe our stories have a unique way of bringing us closer to one another and reminding us of the light that can exist even in difficult chapters.

In this edition, we explore how our personal narratives can bridge the gap between isolation and community alongside our sixth Little Light of the Month, Maria Estrada. Maria and I have had the opportunity to work alongside one another, and I’ve always admired the warmth and energy she brings to every space she enters. Through her story, Maria offers a meaningful perspective on lived experience, connection, and the power of sharing our stories. I’m incredibly grateful to invite someone I admire so deeply to share her story with this community.

Maria Estrada

Maria Estrada is a mental health advocate, speaker, educator, and Child & Youth Counsellor specializing in mental health and addiction. After immigrating to Canada as a child, she navigated mental health challenges and stigma firsthand—experiences that shaped her journey through self-advocacy, diagnosis, relapse, and recovery. Today, Maria uses her lived experience to support and empower youth with complex needs. She is passionate about creating spaces where lived experience is valued, stories are heard, and people feel less alone. She is currently writing a multidisciplinary memoir that expands Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) literature by exploring lived experience from both sides of the mental healthcare system.

Thank you, Maria, for sharing your light with us.

With that, we warmly invite you into her story.

Kindly,

Lily Baker

Founder & Collective Lead

Little Light of the Month—The Turning Point, Maria Estrada

I used to think my story was something I had to overcome before I could share it.

For a long time, I believed the hardest parts of my life would always define me. As a child and teenager living with mental health challenges and struggling with substance use, I became incredibly good at pretending I was okay. On the outside, I smiled. I went to school. I tried to keep moving forward. On the inside, I was carrying shame, confusion, and a loneliness that felt impossible to explain.

The hardest part wasn't just what I was experiencing—it was believing I was experiencing it alone.

Growing up, mental health wasn't something we talked about. I didn't have the language to describe what I was feeling, and I certainly didn't know how to ask for help. There were moments when I questioned whether things would ever get better. Looking back now, I realize I wasn't looking for someone to fix me. I was looking for someone to understand me.

That understanding didn't come all at once.

It came through people who chose to see me beyond my struggles. People who reminded me—sometimes before I believed it myself—that I was more than my diagnosis, more than my mistakes, and more than the chapters of my life I wished I could erase.

That truth changed everything.

For the first time, I began to wonder if my experiences could become more than something I survived. Maybe they could become something that helped someone else feel less alone.

That possibility eventually led me to the work I do today.

Over the past decade, I've had the privilege of walking alongside children, youth, families, and communities navigating mental health challenges, trauma, addiction, and life's many uncertainties. While every person's story is different, one truth continues to reveal itself over and over again: every person wants to know they matter. Every person wants to feel seen.

People often ask why I continue to share my own story.

The answer has changed over the years.

At first, I shared it because I wanted people to know that recovery was possible. Today, I share it because I have learned that stories create something so meaningful: they create connection.

Every time we tell our story, and someone responds with, "Me too," the weight of carrying it alone becomes just a little lighter.

I've come to believe that storytelling isn't simply about sharing experiences. It's about extending trust. It's about saying, "This is part of who I am," and giving someone else permission to believe that their own story matters too.

That belief has transformed the way I see advocacy.

Advocacy isn't about having all the answers or being the loudest voice in the room. It's about creating spaces where people feel safe enough to tell the truth about their lives. It's about replacing judgment with curiosity, stigma with compassion, and silence with connection.

Whether I'm speaking at an event, facilitating a group, mentoring a young person, or simply sitting across from someone who needs to be heard, my hope is always the same: that they leave feeling a little less alone than when they arrived.

Because I know what it's like to believe you're the only one.

I also know what can happen when someone chooses to listen.

Today, I no longer see my story as something that happened to me.

I see it as an invitation.

An invitation to connect.

An invitation to challenge stigma with compassion.

An invitation to remind others that they are more than the hardest chapter of their lives.

Our stories don't need to be perfect to have purpose.

Sometimes, they simply need to be shared.

~Maria Estrada

Reflection

In what ways has sharing your own story, or listening to someone else's, helped support you on your healing journey?

If you’d like to share, we would love to hear from you. You can submit your reflection here. (Note: With your consent, we may feature your reflection in an upcoming issue to share your voice with the community.)

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Closing & Feedback

Thank you for being here and for reading our seventh issue. We are deeply grateful for your support and hope you’ll join us again next month on September 24th, 2026.

If you’re subscribed, the next newsletter will arrive directly in your inbox that day. If not, it will be available on our website, and you’re warmly welcome to subscribe at any time to receive it by email.

How did this newsletter land with you today? 

As a peer-led community, your voice matters deeply to us. Your reflections, feedback, and suggestions help us keep the light shining in the right direction.

We invite you to take a moment to share your thoughts here.

Thank you for reading and for being part of this circle of light.

Until next time,

Keep your little light burning.

✨Little Light Community Collective✨