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September 8th, 2017 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on )

September 5th, 2017 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on )

Mom observes son’s birthday in grief on International Overdose Awareness Day

September 1st, 2017 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Mom observes son’s birthday in grief on International Overdose Awareness Day)

guardiero the province

Brett Colton Mercer was born in Nanaimo on Aug. 31, 1987, to loving parents who eventually had five children. He died Aug. 19, 2017, of an accidental drug overdose, alone in a motel room in Hope, where he had recently landed a job with an oil and gas firm. Guardiero learned of his death two days later, after she was unable to contact him. She had just finished hiking Mount Horne with her daughter when she got a phone call from her other son urging her to get home immediately.  Read the rest of this article at The Vancouver Sun…

Anne Turner’s recovery-based exploration of art draws community recognition

August 31st, 2017 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Anne Turner’s recovery-based exploration of art draws community recognition)

picture 761pfr-banner-post-1Anne Turner credits art therapy with helping her move through various mental health challenges. One of her paintings has taken a prime spot in Nanaimo’s ‘gallery row’

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VIMHS Campbell River centre helps people struggling with substance use & addiction

August 29th, 2017 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on VIMHS Campbell River centre helps people struggling with substance use & addiction)

picture 760pfr-banner-post-1Vancouver Island Mental Health Society’s sobering and assessment centre provides front line help 24/7 for people struggling with substance abuse and addiction [image: centre coordinator Kevin James]

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Dr. Diane McIntosh: Fentanyl crisis is largely a mental-health problem

August 13th, 2017 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Dr. Diane McIntosh: Fentanyl crisis is largely a mental-health problem)

png-0610n-balmoral-1971Whether due to stigma, poor insight, hopelessness or lack of access to care, many people who are mentally ill suffer in silence, sometimes for years [image: Jason Payne]

We’re in the midst of an unprecedented health crisis, with fentanyl-related overdoses causing the death of thousands of Canadians. I believe this crisis is due, to a great extent, to the wilful blindness of all levels of government to the inadequate resourcing of mental-health care.  Read the rest of this article at The Province…