Interview with Bernie McDermott

In this interview Bernie recalls her memories of life in sheriff St.

Her other memories include games we played, the kindness of neighbours within the community and life in general in a working class community.

Amongst other topics, Bernie discusses the impact of the collapse of the docks both internally within the community and externally as society began to refer to our community  as a “No Go Area” She recalls she woke up one morning and heard Sheriff St being described on the news in this way,  when she didn’t even know what that meant.

Her other memories recall the internal resources that surviving the trauma of the collapse of the docks had on some members of the community and how these experiences taught her about the importance of community development, whether that comes from either inside or outside of the community. These early experiences shaped who she would develop into and guided her into the helping profession, initially as a community development worker and later as a therapist.