Artist and author Leef Evans: “I have to tell people”
Leef Evans, an author and artist, experienced a severe bout of depression six years ago that resulted in hospitalization and the loss of apartment, car, and virtually all connection with family and friends.
While living on Vancouver’s downtown eastside, Lee participated in an art program at Coast Mental Health Resource Centre and he is now a part of the Gallery Gachet collective.
He recently told Westender magazine that he has been forced, through his painting, to deal with his lifelong struggle with depression. (more…)
Pat Deegan is a clinical psychologist and also a psychiatric survivor, having first been diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager. During her journey to recovery, she coined the term “personal medicine” which she defines as “the things that give life meaning and make life worth living.”
“Two scientists, drawing on their own powers of observation and a creative reading of recent genetic findings, have published a sweeping theory of brain development that would change the way mental disorders like autism and schizophrenia are understood.” (Source: New York Times)
Concurrent disorders—the combination of a mental illness and substance use disorder—are much more widespread than many people realize. It is generally estimated that around half of people with an addiction or mental illness will also have the other. People with concurrent disorders often fall through the cracks of the health care system. [Source: BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information] 
Our society’s preoccupation with body image is reflected in the fact that, at any given time, 70% of women and 35% of men are dieting. More seriously, a 1993 Statistics Canada Survey reported that in women between the ages of 15 and 25, 1-2% have anorexia and 3-5% have bulimia.
In September 2008 the Canadian Mental Health Association purchased the Balmoral Hotel building on Haliburton Street in Nanaimo for the purposes of providing supportive housing and outreach. Christina Martens, CMHA’s Mid-Island Branch executive director, said that the organization had invested in the community and was looking forward to being a good neighbour, despite hearing some initial concerns about the plans. 