The more we talk about mental illness, the more we combat the damaging stigma that keeps so many from seeking help and finding support. It’s not hard. It’s a conversation that needs to continue all year long, but January 28th is a good day to begin. Watch for events where you live or work, check social media, and have a conversation about mental health with someone you care about.
Simple conversations can make a big difference.
Add your voice to the national discussion. #BellLetsTalk
If you were voting, a very big thank you! The Journeys of Change theatre project, an initiative of the Community Child Abuse Council, came out the winner of the $25,000 prize from the Hamilton Spectator’s SpecKids Change Challenge. The project will bring to life the stories and experiences of newcomer students in an educational and inspiring effort to build understanding and cultural awareness in our community. High school students across the region will see the production, and participating students (writing, design, production, staging, acting) will gain credit for their contributions.
The Council’s OASIS Program offers specialized supports and counseling for immigrant and refugee children, youth, and their families who are experiencing trauma symptoms or significant acculturation stress. An extension of the program has counselors working to to provide accessible support on-site within schools with the greatest number of newcomer students. These services are limited at this time, but remove some of the barriers that otherwise make it difficult for refugee students to access mental health supports.
Thanks to the Hamilton Spectator, SpecKids Unlimited, and the Change Challenge, the program can now extend further by involving newcomer students in a creative endeavour that builds community and helps to integrate and embrace our newest members.
An innovative youth theatre project, Journeys of Change, has been selected as one of five finalists in the 2014 SpecKids Change Challenge (with a $25,000 prize). The project was submitted by the Community Child Abuse Council of Canada and is an extension of its OASIS Program – addressing the unique mental health needs of refugee and immigrant children, youth, and their families who are experiencing symptoms of trauma or serious acculturation difficulties. The project aims to share the stories of newcomer students through theatre, giving voice to their often difficult journeys and reinforcing messages of cultural understanding.
Voting begins on Monday, November 10th and closes on November 30th. Individuals may vote up to 5 times daily to support the project by going to the SpecKids web site: http://www.speckids.ca/change-challenge/finalists/details/community-child-abuse-council
The finalist with the most votes wins, so please consider supporting this worthwhile project – vote, vote daily, and encourage others to do the same. Thank you.
Children’s mental health is important every day, all year long. But one week is set aside annually to focus on children’s mental health issues and awareness, and that week is May 4-10 this year. Take a moment to think about the many challenges, circumstances, conditions, illnesses, traumas, experiences, and other factors that can contribute to the mental health problems facing so many children. Then ask yourself what our community, our society, would be like if all children were happy, healthy and thriving…and what will we need to do to make that happen? 
A just-published, first of its kind study has found what many in the field have known for some time – child abuse has a lasting impact on many Canadians. This new research confirms the link between serious adult mental health problems and experiences of childhood physical abuse, sexual abuse, and witnessing intimate partner violence.
Findings from the national study highlight the urgent need for a child abuse prevention strategy in Canada. Lead author Tracie Afifi of the University of Manitoba told CBC News that her team’s findings “indicate that 32 per cent of the adult population in Canada has experienced child abuse (i.e., physical abuse, sexual abuse and/or exposure to intimate partner violence) and that child abuse has robust associations with mental conditions”.
The study, published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found physical abuse to be most common (26%), followed by sexual abuse (10%) and exposure to intimate partner violence (8%). The authors highlight the need for reporting child abuse as well as understanding treatment implications.
To read the full journal article, visit www.cmaj.ca
“Talking about the survival of children is not an act of charity. Children are the future of any society. If you want to know the future of any society look at the eyes of the children. If you want to maim the future of any society, you simply maim the children. Thus the struggle for the survival of our children is the struggle for the survival of our future. The quantity and quality of that survival is the measurement of the development of our society.”
Kenyan novelist Ngugi wa Thiong’o
March 20 marks the United Nations International Day of Happiness. The Kingdom of Bhutan, known for adopting Gross National Happiness as a measurement of its people’s prosperity, started the initiative for a day devoted to happiness. All 193 UN member states then adopted the resolution creating a day to inspire action for a happier world. On the first celebration of the Day, in 2013, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “let us reinforce our commitment to inclusive and sustainable human development and renew our pledge to help others. When we contribute to the common good, we ourselves are enriched. Compassion promotes happiness and will help build the future we want.”
This year, March 20 will also mark the long-awaited first day of Spring (spring equinox) – something to be very happy about after a long and snowy winter!
For more, visit http://www.dayofhappiness.net or www.facebook.com/Intl.DayofHappiness
A few months ago, the team of researchers conducting the Neighbourhood Study of Maternal and Infant Health in Hamilton hosted an invitational meeting to present their findings and to gather input from community members interested in this work. Their research focus looked at whether or not neighbourhood variations could be found in selected maternal-child health indicators. Does it matter if a new mother has lived in particular neighbourhood for a long time? Does neighbourhood play a role in pre-term birth?
The meeting was intended to get people talking about the research findings (including maps showing health indicators, like obstetrical complications, by census tract) and to hear from those who work in these neighbourhoods as well as those whose primary interest is maternal or infant health. It was seen as a starting point for sharing what the researchers learned, and seeing what the community might do to further their work or implement their findings.
The meeting was facilitated by Karen Smith. The link to the summary report is here: Neighbourhood Study of Maternal and Infant Health in Hamilton INVITATIONAL MEETING SUMMARY REPORT
It’s about helping children after the trauma of abuse. The focus is supporting parents and caregivers. And we all benefit.
That’s the winning combination behind the Community Child Abuse Council’s entry in the AVIVA Community Fund competition this year. It’s a simple concept that, with your support, could do a great deal of good.
The Community Parent Support Program
Now, the Council has an opportunity to share this proven model with others, supporting parents and caregivers in any community (even remote ones and those without specialized treatment options for children). The proposal will see the program published, packaged, and distributed widely, together with the materials and supports needed by facilitators to deliver these groups in any community. These innovative resources will be affordable, adaptable, and ready to implement in any community, anywhere. And, to make this a win-win-win scenario, any revenue from the project will be reinvested into the Council’s child abuse prevention, education, and treatment programs. That means more treatment for local kids in need, more prevention work, and more community-focused educational initiatives.
Voting begins today – September 30th – and it’s easy to vote. Just go to the AVIVA Community Fund web site, find the “register” button at the top right of the page (takes 30 seconds, and only required on your first visit), and once you’re registered, select the Community Parent Support Program and vote!
Here’s the link: http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf17152#.UkHqha-RE2Y.email
You can also search for the Council’s project on the AVIVA Community Fund web site using (idea) number is ACF17152.
Please tell your friends, use your social media connections, and help generate as much support as possible for this proposal – with your help, and enough votes, it will move on to the next rounds and one step closer to the funding that will make this important project possible.
In the first round, you can vote 15 times (but only once per day for the same project). So, please, use those votes to help put valuable and vital resources in the hands of caring communities where they can do the most good for families who need them.
Thank you so very much.
Important information, resources, and event news on this the eve of World Suicide Prevention Day (Tuesday, September 10) from the Suicide Prevention Community Council of Hamilton…
Stigma hurts. It’s that simple. Negative attitudes about individuals who are living with a mental illness or with suicidal ideation or impulses are too common and can be found everywhere. Stigma can prevent or discourage people affected by mental illnesses or suicidal ideation or behaviour from seeking professional help or from returning to their typical social roles after an episode of illness. We each need to do our part to help spread a message of hope and stop the stigma on World Suicide Prevention Day Sept. 10, 2013, co-sponsored by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The stigma surrounding suicide and mental illness creates barriers that can make it difficult for people to get the help they need to access care, housing and employment,” says Lea Pollard, chair of the Suicide Prevention Community Council of Hamilton. “The result is that many people with mental illness and suicidal ideation may not seek out help. The good news is that we can change attitudes and we can eradicate stigma.”
In Hamilton alone, someone dies by suicide every nine days. Globally, people are losing loved ones to suicide every 40 seconds — an estimated 1 million people annually. This exceeds the number of lives lost to homicide and war combined.
On Suicide Prevention Day, the theme of which is Stigma: A Major Barrier for Suicide Prevention, we want your help in spreading a message of hope. Hamilton’s World Suicide Prevention Day discussion wants to know: How do we heal the hurt of stigma?
You can share your message of hope in a number of ways:Join us for the launch of the Stigma Hurts campaign on Sept. 10 at 9 am at Slainte Irish Gastropub, 33 Bowen St. in Hamilton. Dr. Jennifer Brasch Medical Director of Psychiatric emergency services will help us to understand stigma and suicide; a new information resource
- developed by the Suicide Prevention Community Council of Hamilton called Stigma Hurts will be launched and greetings from various community partners including Dr. David Higgins, Chief of Staff at St. Joseph’s Healthcare.
- Get educated.
- 1 in 5 people in this country experience a mental illness, it touches all of us
- Mental illness is just that, an illness and it can be treated
- Change your attitude.
- Mental illness can affect anyone; it does not discriminate
- Mental illness affects people, it doesn’t define who we are
- Do something.
- Talk to someone about mental illness and suicide to gain insight
- Attend a safeTALK training so you can be an alert helper
- Look after your own mental health and teach others to do the same
- Step up when others are bullying or discriminating against someone with a mental illness
- Don’t let stigma get in the way of being a friend
- Use the hashtags #WSPD and #Hamilton to share your messages of hope on Twitter.
Attend the I Take Aim MusicFest fundraiser, Sept. 10 at 5 pm at Slainte Irish Gastropub, 33 Bowen St. in Hamilton.
The sad reality is that only 1 in 3 people will seek help for symptoms of mental illness because of the fear of stigma. What if that one was someone you loved?
Suicide Prevention Community Council of Hamilton
(905) 978 1616
hamiltonsuicideprevention@gmail.com
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