What’s it like being a kid during COVID-19? Not good
But a new report offers a blueprint for supporting children, youth and their families in these perilous times. Eight months into a global pandemic, evidence is mounting that children and youth are facing increased stress and mental health problems. "Even before the...
B.C. urban mayors’ priorities: Mental health treatment; unconditional funding for infrastructure
A commentary by the mayors of Kelowna and Victoria, on behalf of the B.C. Urban Mayors’ Caucus. During the election campaign, the B.C. Urban Mayors’ Caucus released a Blueprint for B.C.’s Urban Future. It called on all parties to address mental health, substance use...
Mental illness and recovery: Keith Lyon & Lydia Migneault
Mental Illness Awareness Week is an annual national public education campaign designed to help open the eyes of Canadians to the reality of mental illness. It has been observed every year since 1992 and is coordinated by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and...
Mental illness and recovery: Karandeep Gill & Caroline Fei-Yeng Kwok
Mental Illness Awareness Week is an annual national public education campaign designed to help open the eyes of Canadians to the reality of mental illness. It has been observed every year since 1992 and is coordinated by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and...
VIMHS Rosehill Apartments in Nanaimo are now available for rent
23 units of new rental housing are now available in Nanaimo at VIMHS Rosehill Apartments (located at 285 Rosehill Street). Rental rates are governed by BC Housing's Community Housing Fund. "There is an urgent need to create more options for those struggling to find...
Recent Posts
For People First Media audio, please follow the link to the post.
VIMHS NEWS
World Suicide Prevention Day is September 10th
Suicide prevention remains a universal challenge. Every year, suicide is among the top 20 leading causes of death globally for people of all ages. It is responsible for over 800,000 deaths, which equates to one suicide every 40 seconds. Every life lost represents...
International Overdose Awareness Day is August 31
International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held on August 31st each year and aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death. It also acknowledges the grief felt by families and friends remembering those who have died or...
BC Housing, VIMHS and the City of Campbell River are partnering on a project to build 50 new homes with support services
BC Housing, the Vancouver Island Mental Health Society (VIMHS) and the City of Campbell River are partnering on a project to build 50 new homes with support services for people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness. BC Housing will lease a portion of the City-owned...
MEDIA SCAN
It is possible to end chronic homelessness if we act now
As a physician and researcher on homelessness, I’m a witness to the intersecting health crises that affect people who don’t have adequate housing. COVID-19 is only one of them. For years, my colleagues and I have treated infections and overdoses, chronic diseases,...
Six new integrated mental health teams being added in B.C., including three on Island
New integrated mental health teams for people with severe mental health challenges will be added in Victoria, Nanaimo and the Cowichan Valley, which could help the heavily over-burdened teams take on new clients in need of help. Six new Assertive Community Treatment...
Homelessness and poverty have long been linked to differences in life expectancy
Six months in, thousands of families have lost loved ones to COVID-19. The economic and social toll of the epidemic has been crushing. We have seen heroic efforts by front line workers and support workers in long-term care homes, shelters, hospitals, and food service...
PEOPLE FIRST MEDIA
The seven little words I’ve been waiting my whole motherhood to say
AUDIO | Susan Vukadinovic is a writer, a project consultant, a facilitator, and a community volunteer. Susan lives in Calgary, Alberta…where, over the past summer, her children experienced unexpected freedoms not unlike those that kids in the 80s, 70s, or 60s might...
Parenting our way through climate and COVID-19 crises
AUDIO | "Is it raining?" My five-year-old asked me this last Saturday morning as he padded out of his bedroom in his spaceship pyjamas and contemplated the muted grey sky out our front window. In Vancouver, grey skies usually signify clouds of water, and after days of...
Being safe, being me: Trans and non-binary youth health in Canada
In 2014, the Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre (SARAVYC) conducted a bilingual survey to learn about the health of transgender youth in Canada. It was the first and largest of its kind in Canada, with 923 young people responding. From this report,...
