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Master sax man brings inspiring message

September 6th, 2012 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Master sax man brings inspiring message)

Juno award-winning master musician and composer Phil Dwyer has battled with addiction and mental illness

Phil Dwyer’s 2012 Juno award for the incredibly ambitious Changing Seasons is the latest in a “resume full of examples of his genuinely adventurous creative spirit,” says the Juno website. Changing Seasons was awarded “Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year.”

The Changing Seasons suite marks a new stage in Phil Dwyer‘s development as an artist, writes Nou Dadoun at VancouverJazz.com.  The theme running through the composition is change, described by Phil as:  “Changing weather, changing climatic conditions, the changing economic structure of the world and some big changes in my own life.  It’s a call to acknowledge the fact of all these changes taking place and a query as to what are we going to do about it.” (more…)

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Inside William Kurelek’s surrealistic world of art

July 5th, 2012 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Inside William Kurelek’s surrealistic world of art)

Extraordinary film looks into artist’s mind, fears, and his questions about whether he was really even human

William Kurelek’s The Maze is a documentary about the life of celebrated Canadian artist William Kurelek, dramatically told through his paintings and his on camera revelations. The film takes an intimate look into the life of one of the 20th century’s most fascinating artists and his struggles with attempted suicide and a self professed “spiritual crisis”. Kurelek describes “The Maze” as a painting he painted while in England as a patient in Maudsley and Netherne psychiatric hospitals. (more…)

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From personal experience to helping others

July 5th, 2012 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Karen Liberman believes thousands of workers affected by mental illness are trying to hide it, unable to talk about it

Karen Liberman was once so ill with clinical depression that she would sometimes spend 24 hours at a time crying. Though she now says she was barely surviving at the time, she nonetheless continued to go to work through ten years of illness. “While suffering, I was ashamed, and I kept my illness a secret as much as possible,” she told the magazine Benefits Canada. “I did not ask for support. I learned that not acknowledging my illness left me isolated; it also meant my co-workers could not address the issue, which created resentment.” (more…)

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First Nations children, and poor children, revisit E.R. for mental health crises

June 28th, 2012 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on First Nations children, and poor children, revisit E.R. for mental health crises)

Study finds more return visits to emergency departments for mental health crises among Aboriginal and poor children

First Nations children and those from families receiving government subsidies had more return visits to emergency departments for mental health crises than other socioeconomic groups, says a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The study revealed that more First Nations children presented to emergency departments for disorders secondary to substance abuse and intentional self-harm than other children, and that, compared with other children, First Nations children returned more quickly to the emergency department and had a longer time before visiting a physician in the post-crisis period. (more…)

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A cross-border partnership to end stigma

June 21st, 2012 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on A cross-border partnership to end stigma)

NoStigmas raises awareness to erase the stigmas of suicide and mental illness by sharing stories of hope and inspiration

A cross-border partnership to end the stigmas associated with suicide and mental illness has been created under the banner of NoStigmas.org—with participants from both Canada and the U.S. Ottawa-based Ray Folkins has joined Chicago-based Jake Moore in his ongoing efforts to develop collaborative partnership programs to help people implement life-changing and life-enhancing strategies. Both men have ‘lived experience’ with anxiety and depression and are now focused on helping others—and particularly, to help erase the stigmas related to mental health issues among youth and adults. (more…)

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Low-barrier housing project stalls

June 13th, 2012 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Low-barrier housing project stalls)

Unexpected land negotiations with City of Nanaimo provide ‘challenges’ for housing organizations

A new low-barrier housing project is on ice in central Nanaimo as operators face unexpected land negotiations with the City of Nanaimo…. B.C. Housing announced last November that [Nanaimo Affordable Housing] and its partners, the Haven Society and Columbian Centre Society, would operate more than 35 low-barrier housing units on Dufferin Crescent. The project is part of the province’s $36.5-million funding commitment to see 165 housing units built in Nanaimo for the homeless and mentally ill.  Read the rest of this story at Nanaimo Daily News.

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