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Mental illness and the family experience

March 11th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Mental illness and the family experience)

Susan Inman’s memoir, After Her Brain Broke, Helping My Daughter Recover Her Sanity, has been recommended by leading organizations advocating for families coping with mental illnesses

No parent ever wants to see their child develop a chronic medical disability. But, when it is one that is so misunderstood by society as is schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses, it is even more traumatic. Now, a new book called After her brain broke: Helping my daughter recover her sanity documents the experiences of a young woman and her family in the difficult journey to recovery. (more…)

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A national radio conversation

February 18th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on A national radio conversation)

Nanaimo’s CHLY and 30 other Canadian community radio stations bring homelessness and poverty issues to the air

Canada’s 8th annual national Homelessness Radio Marathon will broadcast live from Nanaimo and cities across Canada on Tuesday, February 23rd, starting at 2 p.m. (Pacific) and running all night long until 4 a.m. (Pacific) on Wednesday morning. Over thirty participating community radio stations  will once again serve up 14 hours of “people-powered” and “consciousness-raising” radio. The Marathon provides an opportunity for homeless people and their allies to take to the airwaves, and fosters a nationwide discussion on homelessness issues and possible solutions. (more…)

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The challenges experienced by youth with depression

February 18th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on The challenges experienced by youth with depression)

A grassroots awareness raiser is set for February 27, 2010 in Nanaimo

Depression as an illness is a serious condition that brings about substantial changes in mood, behaviour, and thinking. It affects approximately 8% of adolescents. Many people who are depressed wait too long to seek treatment or do not seek treatment at all.

A local awareness-raising event, called Life CAN suck, SO what can I do?, hopes to champion increased funding for youth depression-related programs and to offer hope to young people who are struggling. (more…)

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Are we doing enough?

February 4th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Are we doing enough?)

Victoria tragedy, inquest puts spotlight on response to domestic violence in British Columbia

The British Columbia government announced January 18th that it was taking immediate action to protect victims of domestic violence and ensure offender accountability. The new plans came following an inquest into the murder-suicide deaths of a Victoria family. But critics of the government’s plan say that not enough resources are available to implement changes.  (more…)

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Housing campaigns

January 28th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Housing campaigns)

Red tents and hunger strike call for national strategy

Vancouver-based Pivot Legal Society, the Citywide Housing Coalition and other partners announced the launch of their Olympic red tent campaign on Monday January 25th, calling on the federal government to fund a national housing strategy to end homelessness.

The partners call for government to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for all persons living in Canada. (more…)

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Shame on the smoker

January 14th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Shame on the smoker)

Using stigma as a public health tool in the prevention of smoking

“In recent years, addictions policy has stressed the need to counteract stigmatization in order to promote public health. However, through tobacco ‘denormal-ization’ strategies, tobacco control advocates appear to have embraced the use of stigma as an explicit policy tool.”

So says a recent research article authored by the University of British Columbia’s Kirsten Bell and others. The paper argues that smokers have been stigmatized by current tobacco policies, with a number of potentially negative impacts. (more…)

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