Thursday, May 17, 2012
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Archive (Events)

Mental Health Family Forum

Friday, 09 October 2009 16:00 Last Updated on Saturday, 19 February 2011 19:25
Campbell River will host the 2008 Mental Health Family Forum on October 10th and 11th, 2008. This event is for anyone either living with a mental illness or friends and family who care for someone with a mental illness.

Learn about recovery and about supporting others in recovery. This two day event, put on by the BC Schizophrenia Sociey, Campbell River Beacon Club, the Campbell River Mental Health Consumer Advisory Committee, and the Campbell River Mental Health and Addiction Services wraps up Mental Health Awareness Week (October 5-11) and is intended to highlight the recovery aspect of mental health.

The two-day event kicks off with a dinner on Friday night and with entertainment by David Granirer's Stand Up for Mental Health comedy troupe and presentations of the HOPE (Health, Optimism, Pride and Empowerment) awards. Saturday includes a presentation by Ted Kuntz, author of Peace Begins With Me and a one-woman play by Elly Litvak about illness, recovery and family. Eve Smith will present her Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) and the Brainstormers Puppeteers will also entertain us.

Tickets for this Mental Health Family Forum and nominations for the HOPE awards will be available in September at the BC Schizophrenia Society, The Beacon Club and Mental Health and Addiction Services. For more information about some of the presenters see these websites: www.standupformentalhealth.com , www.peacebeginswithme.ca and, www.whoscrazynow.com

Supporting the Punjabi Community

Tuesday, 15 September 2009 16:00 Last Updated on Saturday, 19 February 2011 19:19
Sunday, September 16 saw the Punjabi community come together in Surrey for an information evening on mental illness. The event was attended by over 100 people who came to hear, Dr. Rajpal Singh, PhD Psychology and Dr. Nirmal Kang, Psychiatrist, speak about mood disorders: the signs and symptoms, how they may be affecting yourself, your family and friends and the availability of MDA Self-Help Punjabi Speaking Support groups.
The largely immigrant Punjabi population in the Lower Mainland is, for the most part, very healthy. To be accepted for immigration to Canada you must be in good health and pass a medical examination. But, according to Dr. Singh, this culture, which has a strong system of family support and co-dependency, encourages individuals to endure mental illness within the family and only seek outside help when it becomes more serious. The stresses of living in a new country along with the absence of extended family to provide support, makes it critical that the availability of help and resources is known to anyone who needs it.

In June of 2007, Jas Cheema, Diversity Services Manager, Surrey Memorial Hospital, invited MDA to participate in a Community Health Fair. It was her goal to heighten the awareness and provide health information to Surrey's diverse community so people can take a personal responsibility. Many who attended took the opportunity to ask about mood disorders and hear about the MDA support groups.

Both Ms. Cheema and Dr. Singh point at the importance of getting the message out to the Punjabi community and the medical professionals who are in a position to promote these resources. Doctors must be persistent in encouraging their Punjabi patients to seek help for a mental illness early on in the diagnosis stage.

And the message is getting out. Dr. Singh and MDA's Rennie Hoffman, have appeared as guests on RedFM, a Vancouver multicultural radio station, to discuss bipolar disorder, depression and other mood disorders; BC Ministry of Health recognizes the importance of producing culturally sensitive information; Fraser Health Authority has psychiatric workers from the South Asian community included on treatment teams. People are learning to accept help that is offered in order to assist them to live with mental illness, whether it be their own or that of a family member.

Dr. Singh facilitates the two MDA Self-Help Punjabi Speaking Support Groups - one for men and one for women. This is the second year for the groups which meet alternating Sundays at the DiverseCity Community Resource Society in Surrey. The interest and attendance is growing with some new attendees being referred by their doctors. For some it may be the first time they have talked about their mood disorder outside their family.

If you want more information about these two support groups, please click on our Special Interest Support Groups, email or call our office.

That's Just Nuts!

Sunday, 05 October 2008 16:00 Last Updated on Saturday, 19 February 2011 19:07
What is a mood disorder? According to a recent report (August 2008) commissioned by the Canadian Medical Association, one in four Canadians are afraid of being around someone who suffers from serious mental illness, while one in nine think depression is not a mental illness, and one in two think it is not a serious condition. Lack of knowledge and awareness continues to play a key role in the pervasiveness of the stigma and discrimination.

A goal of the Mood Disorders Association is to work to dispel the myths and eliminate the discrimination associated with mental illness. With that in mind, we have created an awareness building initiative aimed specifically at the general public. Our hope is to build an understanding community by educating individuals and to also and perhaps more importantly, get the word out so that people needing help know where to go.

The “That´s Just Nuts!” campaign directly addresses the myths and tells the truths as they relate to mood disorders. Scheduled for Mental Illness Awareness Week (October 6-10, 2008) teams of volunteers (2-4 per target area) will be dispersed to targeted high traffic areas throughout Metro Vancouver to distribute the peanuts in addition to our myth busting handout. Our goal is to reach out to as many people as possible throughout the week.

In order to be successful, we need your help! If you would like to be a part of the myth busting team please let us know. You will be provided with a “That´s Just Nuts!” sweatshirt, a teammate, a high traffic location, bags of peanuts and a handout. Following our morning blitz will be hot chocolate and goodies at the MDA office.

Proposed campaign target areas…

Downtown Core - 8 locations

Bentall/BMO/Royal Bank/CIBC Buildings
Burrard and Georgia
Howe and Georgia
Howe and Dunsmuir
Robson Street

Skytrain - 9 locations

Expo Line
Waterfront*
Burrard
Granville
Broadway/Commercial
Metrotown
22nd Street
Scott Road

Millennium Line
Brentwood
Lougheed

*The Waterfront Station is also the end line for the West Coast Express and Sea Bus