Bipolar disorder is often characterized by periods of highly creative thoughts and behaviours
Bipolar disorder (which was once called “manic depression”) is a condition characterized by repeated episodes of depression and abnormally elevated mood. Although bipolar disorder has been associated with disability and poor quality of life, it is also, for some people, associated with positive aspects of life, such as increased creativity. Over half a million Canadians have BD. (more…)
Jordan Rada and Frank Figueroa survived anti-gay bullying in school and now speak out to help others
Pink Shirt Day was recently observed at schools in Nanaimo and across Canada. The now-annual event was inspired by Nova Scotia high school students David Shepherd, Travis Price and their teenaged friends, who in 2007 organized a high-school protest in support of a Grade 9 boy who was being bullied—for wearing pink to school. They took a stand against bullying by distributing pink T-shirts to all the boys in their school.
Homophobia in schools is associated with bullying behaviours. A Canadian study found that 37% of gay and lesbian youngsters felt like outsiders at their schools and that a quarter of gay and lesbian youths in Canada have attempted suicide at least once. [Source: Alliance busts gay stereotypes, Nanaimo Daily News] (more…)
Local gallery appeals for funds so its programs for all people, including those with disabilities, are available
Start With Art Nanaimo (SWAN) opened a studio across from the Nanaimo train station in 2009 called Studio 366. In the past year the studio has grown in use with art shows, classes, open studio times, rentals, and more. The artists’ collective had responded to a growth in interest among those working in the disability field who were using art in their practice.
Start With Art Nanaimo has a core group of board members and a growing membership that supports the founding principle that a community becomes stronger through art. SWAN aims to make art an integral part of the lives of people with disabilities, and to promote the work of artists with disabilities. (more…)
Urban food production and sustainability challenge notions of private property and home ownership
Dirk Becker’s Vancouver Island urban farm was ordered shut down last year by the District of Lantzville after a neighbour complained about farming-related activities. Dirk and Nicole Shaw had spent five years creating the rich urban farm and selling produce at Bowen Road Farmers’ Market—but Lantzville’s home business bylaws didn’t include ‘agriculture’ among its regulations.
In the weeks following the story’s publication, Dirk Becker and Nicole Shaw were contacted by hundreds of supportive people—and the story was reported internationally. Local advocates for urban agriculture asked that steps be taken to review the bylaw and amend it to accommodate urban agriculture. The Lantzville mayor later confirmed that the District wished to modify its bylaws. (more…)
Patricia and Renato share cross-cultural experiences from Nanaimo in an online blog
Patrícia Melo and Renato Coelho left Brazil for Nanaimo a few months ago to attend Vancouver Island University. The couple, who are former journalists, are sharing stories about what they’ve been experiencing in their new culture on Vancouver Island. Their blogs, Just married, just enrolled! (in English) and Canada: There we go! (in Portuguese), track the experience of daily life in Nanaimo—which is predictably rather different than what Patrícia and Renato left behind in Sao Paulo, a city of more than 10 million people. (more…)
Church says it is part of the community—and it has been part of the community for a very long time
Nanaimo’s St. Paul’s Anglican church hosted a special service of thanksgiving on January 23rd 2011, the first event of several planned for the coming year as the congregation celebrates its 150th anniversary.
St. Paul’s is one of the oldest Anglican churches in British Columbia. There have actually been three St. Paul’s buildings over time—on land originally given by the Hudson Bay Company. 150 years later, the parish maintains a key role in the community and offers a range of ministries and activities in the downtown core of the city. (more…)
