VIMHS is very grateful for a donation of hand sanitizer produced by Arbutus Distillery
Arbutus Distillery, located locally in Nanaimo, has begun making hand sanitizer, as many local distilleries have been doing within British Columbia and across Canada. Arbutus has been working diligently on the project and, based on very limited supply, the Distillery...
In this time of uncertainty, Vancouver Island Crisis Society is here to help
Our Crisis Services (Line, Chat, and Text) remain available to support you.Please refer coronavirus questions and inquiries by dialling 811. We have informed all participants that our Community Education workshops and our Volunteer Training program have been either...
Tips for managing anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic
At a time when supermarket shelves are looking bare and authorities are shutting down schools and borders, Canadians may find it challenging to remain calm. What can you do to manage your anxiety and maintain your mental health during a pandemic? We asked experts for...
At first glance, schizophrenia may seem like a great puzzle
Its causes are still uncertain; its symptoms, variable. Striking most often in the 16 to 30 year age group, affecting an estimated one person in a hundred, it is youth’s greatest disabler. But if it is a puzzle, it’s one that is slowly being solved. New pieces are...
Vancouver Island Mental Health Society is hiring!
Casual Tenant Support Worker, Sobering and Assessment Centre Worker, and Mental Health Worker positions are available at Vancouver Island Mental Health Society. Tenant Support Worker (Casual), Nanaimo The Tenant Support Worker (TSW) provides assistance and tenancy...
Recent Posts
For People First Media audio, please follow the link to the post.
VIMHS NEWS
VIMHS will open a new 23-unit affordable housing building in Nanaimo this October
An affordable housing project under construction near downtown [Nanaimo] will do good things for those who eventually live there, says Nanaimo’s MLA [Sheila Malcolmson]. Construction is currently underway on a three-storey residential building at 285 Rosehill St.,...
International Women’s Day is March 8, 2020
An equal world is an enabled world. How will you help forge a gender equal world? Celebrate women's achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality. International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and...
It’s Eating Disorders Awareness Week in Canada from February 1 to 7
Eating Disorders affect people of all genders, sexual orientations, ages, socioeconomic class, abilities, races, and ethnic backgrounds. That is why, from February 1st to 7th every year, Eating Disorder groups across Canada unite to commemorate Eating Disorder...
MEDIA SCAN
Lack of addictions treatment for youth needs urgent fix
As British Columbia heads into the fifth year of a public health emergency due to the high number of opioid overdose deaths, Vancouver Island still doesn’t have a single residential-treatment for youth. Province-wide, the number of youth beds and services lag demand....
We lost our son to suicide. Here’s how we survived.
On Sept. 7, 2017, my 31st wedding anniversary, a date marked by happy memories turned tragic. That was when I learned that my 23-year-old son, Garrett, had died by suicide. Two-and-a-half years later, the news that brought me to my knees rings in my memory as if it...
Grieving suicide is tough, but we need to be honest about how much it hurts
During the first few months after my daughter’s suicide, I learned that people could be put into one of three categories. The first group was made up of people who were genuinely there for me, not surprisingly these were family and close friends. Showing up with a...
PEOPLE FIRST MEDIA
What needs to be done to help overdose survivors living with brain damage?
The province of British Columbia is reportedly using “every possible available tool” to curb opioid overdose deaths—and thousands of deaths have been averted since introducing several strategies. But what is happening to those many thousands of citizens who are...
The impacts of climate change and climate disasters on mental health
AUDIO | The 2018 spring flooding in New Brunswick devastated communities along the Saint John River. Thousands of people were displaced from their homes during the flood event. And then spring flooding struck again in 2019. We actually don't have any good research out...
One day at a time: Alfred Andrew and living in recovery
AUDIO | Alfred Andrew lives and works in Campbell River, on Vancouver Island. Alfred experienced almost 40 years of substance use and rounds of homelessness and living on the street but he’s living in recovery now and working to help others who are struggling as he...
