Vancouver Coastal Health will no longer fund a range of community-based mental health groups, in a decision that was reportedly based on VCH’s imperative to focus on “core health services”
Five community-based nonprofit groups on the west coast have lost their funding from Vancouver Coastal Health in an unexpected decision that the health authority says will increase focus on “core health services.” The affected organizations include: The Art Studios, Access Community through English (ACE) Program, British Columbia Schizophrenia Society, Mood Disorders Association of B.C., and West Coast Mental Health Network. (more…)
A new documentary film, On the Road to Find Out, examines the re-location of people with mental illness from smaller communities on Vancouver Island to Nanaimo—in order to access mental health services. The film was commissioned by Columbian Centre and directed by Vancouver Island-based filmmaker Paul Manly.
“When your civil rights have been violated you don’t need a good hug—you need a good lawyer.” That’s what Paul Caune has concluded after his experiences in trying to obtain adequate supports and accommodation in the province of British Columbia.
New research presented at conferences in Victoria and Vancouver this month have highlighted several challenges related to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in the province of British Columbia. The findings are particularly important to the well-being of two groups that have often been described as particularly vulnerable to HIV infection: gay and bisexual men; and women. 
Some of Canada’s homeless people are being described as “frequent flyers”–
Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses with significant, life-threatening medical and psychiatric morbidity and mortality, regardless of an individual’s weight. Anorexia Nervosa (AN), in particular, has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder. Risk of premature death is 6-12 times higher in women with AN as compared to the general population, adjusting for age. 