During Mental Health Week, Canadians take the time to reflect on their mental health. But we do more than just reflect. We get loud about it.

This year during the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Mental Health Week, Canadians are speaking up: we’ve been in line for mental health care for way too long. We can’t wait anymore. We are literally sick of waiting. But we’re not only waiting for mental health care. To be truly mentally well, Canadians also need psychotherapy, counselling and community-based mental health services and programs; we need acknowledgement and respect; and we need adequate housing. This CMHA Mental Health Week, May 1-7, Canadians are writing their MPs, speaking out on social media, and donating our time and money, all in the name of getting loud for mental health.  Read more here…

Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, a song written for jazz singer Nina Simone, perhaps sums up how a lot of people living with bipolar disorder feel

Dr. Barry Rich, for one, thinks the time has come for understanding. Rich, a retired physician, is putting the final stamp on what was a two-year manic binge in which he bought 300 guitars. He is auctioning them on Sunday, May 7, at Able Auctions in Surrey. “I have a 1941 Harmony Gaylord. I figure it was one of the last guitars made before Pearl Harbor,” he said. “I have a Gretch acoustic made in 1963 that’s as rare as hen’s teeth.”  Read the rest of this story at The Province…

As the taboo around talking about mental health crumbles, students are demanding more resources on campus, and many post-secondary education institutions are struggling to keep up

University isn’t meant to be easy, but it isn’t supposed to be this hard: since November 2016, the University of Guelph has lost four students to suicide. After the fourth death, in mid-January, the school sent out another statement reminding staff and students about the counselling services available to them. For recent grad Connie Ly, it wasn’t enough. “I really just questioned how useful the services were, given that they were so overwhelmed already,” she says.  Read more at Macleans magazine…

However you recognize volunteering in 2017, one thing remains timeless…and that is volunteer efforts create positive impact in communities across Canada

Thank you Canadian volunteers, for 150 glorious years! In 2017, volunteering comes in many forms and is as diverse as Canada itself. To celebrate all volunteers and to get you thinking more deeply about volunteering, during NVW Volunteer Canada will release a series of crossword puzzles that reveal the impacts, benefits and diverse ways Canadians are involved in communities. Some answers may be obvious, while others may cause you to stop and say: “Volunteering, Eh?”  Read more at Volunteer Canada…

“Funds must not only build affordable housing, they must align with poverty reduction strategies and mental health and recovery initiatives currently underway if we are to truly reduce long-term homelessness”

In North American cities like New York, San Francisco, Vancouver, Toronto and countless others, we have grown accustomed to seeing people who are homeless walk among us, often in the shadows, often with visible signs of duress from addiction, mental illness or basic hopelessness. Simply put, we’ve become desensitized to the everyday experiences of persons visibly homeless in our cities and communities.  Read more at The Huffington Post…