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Poverty knows no seasons

December 2nd, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Poverty knows no seasons)

But the weeks leading up to Christmas are vital for food banks, charities seeking public help

The public believes that homelessness and poverty are two of the most pressing issues in Canada today. Nearly two-thirds of Canadians ranked poverty, homelessness and related issues as the most pressing social problems in Canada, in a study by The Salvation Army. And over the last two years, food bank use in Canada has risen by 28%—an unprecedented rate of growth. HungerCount 2010—a report by Canada’s food banks—shows that the effects of the recession are still being felt across the country. (more…)

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Fear and othering

November 4th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Fear and othering)

Is a ‘tea party’ brewing against Nanaimo’s progressive homelessness solution?

A group of residents living in the Townsite Road area of Nanaimo are reportedly still fuming about plans to build units of housing to house homeless people in their neighbourhood. The hospital-area facility is one of five that will be built in Nanaimo [opens to PDF] after funding was received from the provincial government.

The Hospital Area Neighbourhood Association (HANA) hosted an information meeting October 21st and then appeared at a city council meeting on Monday October 25th to present a petition against the low-barrier facility planned for the area. (more…)

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On the psychiatric experience

September 30th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on On the psychiatric experience)

A roundtable discussion with three people who have experienced the system, first-hand

Anti-psychiatry and mad pride movements have been questioning and assessing the role of psychiatry in health care and society—from the “patient’s” perspective—for decades now, but recent concerns about what appears to be a resurgence in the use of electroconvulsive therapy and questions about the growing use of psychiatric medications has added impetus to the debate. (more…)

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Challenges of Alzheimer’s

September 23rd, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Challenges of Alzheimer’s)

Burden grows for individuals, families, and governments as agencies raise warning

The recent World Alzheimer Report for 2010 [opens to PDF] says that the societal cost of dementia is not only already enormous, but that dementia is also significantly affecting every health and social care system in the world. Additionally, the economic impact on families is insufficiently appreciated. More ominously, the report predicts that worldwide, the costs of dementia are set to soar. And it states there is an urgent need to develop cost-effective packages of medical and social care that meet the needs of people with dementia and their caregivers across the course of the illness, and evidence-based prevention strategies. (more…)

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Suicide prevention is back in class

September 23rd, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Suicide prevention is back in class)

Vancouver Island Crisis Society works in local schools to bolster awareness, prevention

The Vancouver Island Crisis Society has been “taking suicide prevention to the heart of Nanaimo-Ladysmith district secondary schools, showing students how to be watchful and compassionate peers and how to detect signs of trouble in others.”  Peer ‘gatekeepers’ learn about suicide warning signs and how to respond. They also learn more widely applicable life skills—listening skills, setting healthy boundaries, communicating, coping, and how to access community resources. (more…)

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Unpacking the housing numbers

September 16th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Unpacking the housing numbers)

Study looks at data to see where the B.C. government has increased social housing

A new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has found that over the past five years British Columbia has seen an increase of about 1,500 units of new supportive housing for the homeless and housing for frail seniors. But the province has also seen a loss of 2,820 independent social housing units.

Taken together, the government’s own data indicate an overall net increase of only 280 actual social housing units over the past five years, a finding the group calls “sobering and concerning.” In response, the B.C. Liberal government’s housing minister said, “Our housing strategy is working.” He provided a range of statistics to show what has occurred. (more…)

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