Sudbury quilting program nurtures self-confidence

A group in Sudbury says its quilting program plays a major role in improving the lives of people it works with.

Northern Initiative for Social Action (NISA) is a non-profit peer support organization in Sudbury that helps people with lived experience of mental health challenges.

Part of its programming is the Warm Hearts Warm Bodies Quilting Program.

June Gilchrist, 71, quilts on a modified sewing machine with no foot pedal to accommodate her mobility issues.

"Well it just gives you a reason to get out of bed,” Gilchrist said.

“Oh, I am going to NISA and I am going to quilt and I am going do this today.”

Gilchrist, who lives with cerebral palsy and osteoporosis, has been a member of NISA for nine years.

"I just have to tell myself I can do it, you know," she said.

Officials with NISA said it received funding to modify the sewing machine – and investment that has really paid off.

"June comes every day," said Tammy Armstrong, program co-ordination at NISA.

“So it's definitely a sense of, you know, having her family, like, her daytime family, to go to being part of this community at NISA.”

The quilts are donated to the homeless and vulnerable.

The program has been running for 25 years and produces more than 100 quilts each year.