‘No more kids in care’

by Ricardo-Andres Garcia, Brian Wells, and Nathan Woolridge

This episode dives into the issues of separating Indigenous families — the crisis that Canada has created through Residential Schools, the Sixties Scoop and the Millennial Scoop among other events that took Indigenous children from their parents. Today, we are seeing it in the placement of First Nations children in foster care.

The effects of such events have led to a cycle of inter-generational trauma — a legacy of children being separated from their families and flooding the foster care system.

Indigenous children are over-represented in Canada’s foster care system, accounting for nearly half of all children cared for by the state, despite making up just seven per cent of all children in the country. The 2011 Statistics Canada data from still holds up.

"I really believe that First Nation's communities are quite capable of looking after their own children.” -Roy Bear Chief

To learn more about the Iniskim center at Mount royal University please visit: https://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/IniskimCentre/index.htm

This episode is created by: https://calgaryjournal.ca/

Intro music by Ricardo-Andres-Garcia

Three Calgary women on how to be a great Indigenous ally

By Kaeliegh Allan, Alaina Shirt and Chelsey Mutter

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Action Research describes non-Indigenous allies as people who “recognize the unearned privilege they receive from society’s patterns of injustice and take responsibility for changing these patterns.”

Many want to be an ally to the Indigenous community, but often don’t know where to start. What’s the correct terminology to use? What sorts of questions should be asked, avoided?

“We have to ask questions, we have to be humble, we have to come with a really good heart, and we have to be willing to be challenged.” -Kathy Offet-Gartner

To learn more about the Iniskim center at Mount royal University please visit: https://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/IniskimCentre/index.htm

This episode is created by: https://calgaryjournal.ca/

Intro music by Ricardo-Andres-Garcia

Calling on Indigenous Students to Speak Out: What Educators Fail to Realize

by Kemi Omorogbe, Mackenzie Gellner and Ryleigh Kampman

In an effort to lift Indigenous curriculum off the page and uphold the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, some professors are turning to Indigenous students in the classroom to speak to the content. This is angering some student who feel as they are being generalized because of their culture.

“The professors had no clue, no clue, and some of them were honest and said they never had this experience in my career, so I can’t provide you any feedback. And others just blew me off, they basically didn’t care.” - Buffalo Kiss

To learn more about the Iniskim center at Mount royal University please visit: https://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/IniskimCentre/index.htm

This episode is created by: https://calgaryjournal.ca/

Intro music by Ricardo-Andres-Garcia

How three individuals are breaking through inter-generational trauma

by Sarah Green, Georgia Longphee, and Casey Richardson

Inter-generational trauma perpetuates a cycle of cultural disconnect and misunderstanding in Indigenous communities, seen by many as the root cause of challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples.

The Calgary Journal invited an Indigenous elder, a professor and a student -- all who have been touched by inter-generational trauma -- to discuss the critical importance of resilience. Resilience focuses not on pain but on strength.

“I have trauma. I have triggers. But now that I am learning about it, it is helping me know what those triggers are and deal with them in a healthy way.”

To learn more about the Iniskim center at Mount royal University please visit: https://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/IniskimCentre/index.htm

This episode is created by: https://calgaryjournal.ca/

Intro music by Ricardo-Andres-Garcia

How the Iniskim Centre creates a welcoming space for MRU’s Indigenous students

by Monique LaBossiere, Bill Atwood, Jackson Reed

University life seems so exciting in the movies. From unpacking your brand new bed sheets to cooking your first meal alone, the possibilities seem endless. Steve Kootney-Jobin, the Indigenous housing and events coordinator for Mount Royal University’s Iniskim Centre, says this picturesque image is not a reality for all students.

“It almost becomes this fictionalized Hollywood type of image. Where you have students arriving at the dorms, being dropped off by both parents and then their parents taking them shopping and stocking them up for the semester, when that isn’t always the case.” - Steve Kootney-Jobin

“I was asked by one of my roommate if I got everything for free. On one hand it does make me feel a little bad if I am viewed [as having gotten] a free ride or not. I guess it’s just a little alienating,” says Lightning. - Jacob Lightning

To learn more about the Iniskim center at Mount royal University please visit:

This episode is created by:

Intro music by Ricardo-Andres-Garcia

Why parenting shouldn’t be a battle against mental health

By Kyra Bird [email protected] and Stephanie Hagenaars [email protected]

Parenting is often seen as a independent endeavor, yet this common perception often leaves parents feeling as though they can’t, or shouldn’t, reach out for help with their mental health when needed. In our Mental Health Mind Map podcast series, Calgary parents share their struggles with building a support system to help tackle parenthood.

Tiffany Austin, the creator of The Good Enuf Mommy blog and mom to a seven-year-old son, says her parenthood struggles began during pregnancy when she was put on bed rest, experienced a tough labour and then was hospitalized with postpartum psychosis a few weeks later. Austin, like many of the mothers in a 2015 Pew Research Center report, found her support system online through social media.

The Pew report indicates that 74 per cent of parents use social media to receive parental support from friends. However, 45 per cent of the mothers who use social media “strongly agree” that they receive this support online, in comparison to just 22 per cent of fathers who responded the same way.

A.J. Bergin, on the other hand, hasn’t yet turned to social media for parenting help.

He recently separated from his wife and is now navigating co-parenting his two-year-old daughter, Rune. Bergin is beginning to rebuild the support system that he sees as an integral part of parenting.

“It is so important to build your community around yourself because when you’re at your low you need someone to help out,” Bergin says.

In partnership with Calgary Canadian Mental Health Association, we’re publishing podcasts and news stories about mental health issues in our city. Track these stories using #CalgaryJournalHealth.

Podcast music credit: Music courtesy of Spyro Vapes/SoundCloud

How friendships can help or hinder your mental health

By Emily Dixon, Andrea Wong, Vinyet Miro Pujadas and Rod Neyra

People think friendship is easy and something everyone figures out by elementary school. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Many people struggle with unhealthy friendships well into adulthood. The Canadian Mental Health Association runs the Art of Friendship, a free course for Calgarians to learn skills for developing healthy friendships.

Priscilla Cherry, a peer facilitator with the CMHA, says mental wellness isn’t possible without healthy friendships.

“It can sound like fluff. But again that is honestly the cure to addiction, mental health and isolation,” she says.

Brigham Young University completed a study which found that not having friendships to rely on could be as negative to one’s overall health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Nigel Mayers, a past Art of Friendship participant who took the course with CHMA’s Recovery College, says he’s learned a lot about healthy friendships, boundaries and hope.

“I isolated myself for years, I cut myself off from my friends and things just got worse and worse from there,” adding, “The moment you really connect with someone; you can see someone go from their world is falling apart to they have that glimmer of hope.”

In partnership with the Calgary office of the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Calgary Journal is publishing a series of podcasts and news stories about mental health issues in our city. You can follow these stories using the #CalgaryJournalHealth hashtag.

Podcast music courtesy of Spyro Vapes/SoundCloud.

How religion can help and hurt people struggling with mental health

By Blaise Kemna, Samantha Lafleur and Sajan Jabbal

In partnership with the Calgary Canadian Mental Health Association, we’re publishing podcasts and news stories about mental health issues in our city. Track these stories using #CalgaryJournalHealth.

What role can religion play on one’s mental health? The Calgary Journal brought three people together to take on this topic.

Shelika Joshi, a Hindu woman from Calgary, is a peer support worker with the Canadian Mental Health Association.

“I kind of made my own support group of inviting people who have mental illness or mental health concerns but we have faith in God,” Joshi says.

She says managing your own mental health and adhering to a faith tradition can work hand-in-hand.

“It does give me that cultural understanding with some of our patients … but then also I have that evidence-based knowledge to know what may be the right treatment for that young person or adult,” Jabbal says, sharing medical and spiritual insights on mental health and religion.

Mike Ivancic is a Christian pastor in Calgary and sees that religion can have both a positive and negative effect on a person’s mental health. But in the end he thinks it can play an important role in addressing an individual’s struggles without interfering with modern medical practices.

“I think from a faith perspective, it’s to acknowledge the things that we see in science, the things we see around us,” says Ivancic. “But it’s [also] to build on top of that. It’s not mutually exclusive.”

Podcast music courtesy of Spyro Vapes/SoundCloud

Editor’s note: In the interest of transparency one of our sources, Rekha Jabbal is the mother of reporter Sajan Jabbal

PODCAST: Where caregivers should draw the line when helping loved ones in trouble with mental health

By Sadie Johnson, Gabriel Reed and Jayme Crosser

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, in any given year, one in five Canadians will personally experience a mental health issue or illness.

What is sometimes forgotten is the toll that illness can have on family members, friends or work colleagues.

Jenna Warren and Sam Eady are peer facilitators with the CMHA in Calgary who help run an 8-week course called [Finding Your Balance].

They help provide caregivers with with emotional support and provide access to resources. They also have personal experience in caregiver roles.

We understand how hard and tough it can be sometimes, and that the family as a unit needs support,” says Warren.

Eady explains how peer-supporting isn’t just about giving advice, but also listening.

“It’s really about meeting people, [and] where they’re at in their journey,” says Eady

The caregiver course is part of the CMHA’s [Recovery College program], which requires pre-registration, but is free to the public.

In partnership with the Calgary Canadian Mental Health Association, the [Calgary Journal] is publishing podcasts and news stories about mental health issues in our city. Track these stories using #CalgaryJournalHealth.

Credit: music courtesy of Spyro Vapes/SoundCloud

[2]http://www.recoverycollegecalgary.ca/courses/finding-your-balance/

How the Fresh Start recovery program helps men escape addiction through personal experience

By Isabelle Bennett, Jill Meagher and Dan Khavkin

Addiction is a mental health issue capable of destroying careers, relationships and physical health. Calgary’s Fresh Start Recovery Centre is giving men and their families a way out.

Beyond acting as a support system, the people running the program also have direct experience with addiction and recovery.

Stacey Peterson, the executive director of the recovery centre, said he grew up in an alcoholic environment and a home filled with physical violence.

“The police were out on the lawn once a month,” Peterson said.

“I had issues far before I ever picked up [alcohol or drugs],” he said. “I never felt like I fit, regardless of where I was. I always felt ‘less-than.’ I always felt different. And then I found alcohol — I was about nine years old.”

Bruce Holstead, Fresh Start’s director of operations, said he started “dabbling” with marijuana and alcohol when he was around 12 or 13 years old, transitioning to injectable drugs shortly after.

“Addiction for me took an exceptionally-aggressive path in a very hurried state,” Holstead said.

With help from friends and families along with rehabilitation programs, both men were able to begin the process of recovery and say they haven’t used since.

Now, they are giving back the acceptance and assistance that was given to them through Fresh Start.

“It is completely possible not to regret the past or wish to shut the door on it, and be able to use your experience, no matter how far down the scale you’ve gone, to benefit others,” Peterson said.

In partnership with the Calgary Canadian Mental Health Association, we’re publishing podcasts and news stories about mental health issues in our city. Track these stories using #CalgaryJournalHealth.

Credit: music courtesy of Spyro Vapes/SoundCloud