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On saving traditional languages

May 27th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on On saving traditional languages)

Young activists are tackling the disappearance of traditional aboriginal languages using a unique learning method

“If our language dies, then our identity as a nation does,” according to Squamish Nation member Dustin Rivers. Dustin recently told the Straight that land, culture, and rights don’t have meaning in the absence of traditional language. The 20-year-old activist, artist, and writer is part of a group behind the Save Your Language Conference, to be held June 5 and 6 in Vancouver.

Participants at the conference will learn the Where Are Your Keys? system, developed by Evan Gardner. The WAYK game system is a comprehensive method for revitalizing endangered languages and skills. (more…)

Food insecurity

May 27th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Food insecurity)

Nanaimo’s Salvation Army might abandon its meal program, leaving a big gap in food security

The Salvation Army’s Nanaimo director of services Rob Anderson recently told the Nanaimo Working Group on Homelessness that the organization faces a funding problem. Unless it can get other community organizations to help fund its meal programs, the Sally Ann may need to close them down altogether. City of Nanaimo social planner John Horn told The Nanaimo Daily News that the meal programs at New Hope Centre became a victim of their own success, with the numbers of people accessing meals increasing over time. (more…)

2010: Not just surviving, but shining

May 20th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on 2010: Not just surviving, but shining)

Gay and queer men to look at health, wellness in Nanaimo

A three-day-long gathering in Nanaimo on May 28-30 is designed for gay and queer men who want to do more than “just survive.” SHINE will bring together men for workshops, social events, hikes, talking and socializing.

The event is an initiative of AIDS Vancouver Island and is led by Liam “Captain” Snowdon, an outreach worker with AVI. It begins on Friday May 28 with a reception. More information can be found at eventbrite.com. (more…)

Anti-homophobia versus bullying

May 20th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Anti-homophobia versus bullying)

Schools appear to be taking up the leadership challenge

In 2009, an adolescent health survey revealed that a quarter of gay and lesbian youths in Canada have attempted suicide at least once. And a total of 37% of gay and lesbian youngsters felt like outsiders at their schools. [Source: Alliance busts gay stereotypes, Nanaimo Daily News]

Homophobia in schools is also associated with bullying behaviours. (more…)

The withering away of psychiatry

May 20th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on The withering away of psychiatry)

Bonnie Burstow’s anti-psychiatry activism and an attrition model for the termination of psychiatry

For decades antipsychiatry activists have called for an end to psychiatry but the movement has offered little vision of how to bring about that end. An unpopular movement such as antipsychiatry which is at odds with the state and prevailing hegemony begins at a serious disadvantage. (more…)

A public challenge to institutional psychiatry

May 13th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on A public challenge to institutional psychiatry)

An international movement comes together for a meeting in Toronto, and raises establishment hackles

On May 7 and 8, 2010 over two hundred people gathered in Toronto for a conference focused on organizing resistance against psychiatry. PsychOUT’s stated purpose was to “provide a forum for psychiatric survivors, mad people, activists, scholars, students, radical professionals, and artists from around the world to come together and share experiences of organizing against psychiatry.”

People belonging to marginalized groups who are at greater risk of psychiatrization, such as women, radicalized people, queers, trans people, people with disabilities and homeless people and others living in poverty, were active participants. (more…)