Bernie Pauly of the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and the University of Victoria speaks about how the toxic drug crisis has unfolded over 10 years as a declared public health emergency. Also featuring the voices of Amanda Farrell-Low, Stephanie Harrington, and Sarah Lee.

Trevor Wideman, a postdoctoral researcher at Vancouver Island University, is looking at municipal governance and health policy, and how it interacts with the toxic drug and housing crises. Christopher Hauchildt is operations coordinator for a community engaged research project called Walk With Me. The two of them spoke with People First Radio about Walk With […]

Gabriola Island playwright Frank Moher is putting his own story on this stage. Boy Player chronicles the author’s experience of being orphaned and moving across a continent in his youth. It’s the third in a series of shows from Western Edge Theatre exploring themes of men’s mental health. Moher visited CHLY to speak about the […]

A University of Victoria PhD student is looking at the intersection between chronic pain and sexuality. “ I’m really looking at understanding people’s stories and experiences. And what I want to understand is how chronic pain affects sexuality and identity in people that live with chronic pain,” said Jenise Finlay, speaking to People First Radio from […]

Ann Livingston has spent decades helping drug user groups organize. In the 1990s, she helped co-found the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, and is currently working with the Nanaimo Area Network of Drug Users (NANDU). “ A drug user group in the simplest mission statement is to improve the lives of people who have not […]

Lexie Morgan is a registered clinical counsellor. She does work with the Sea to Sky chapter of a group called Mountain Muscox, which offers support to people who have experienced trauma or loss in the mountains. She spoke with People First Radio about the group and her work.  When someone had experienced a traumatic event, […]

Writer Jordan Kawchuk is preparing to speak as a lived experience speaker at a Nanaimo Foundation event called Rethinking Drinking. “My lived experience is that I’ve been to treatment many times and I wrestle with alcohol use disorder,” he said. “I hope to that the community can see that alcohol use disorder is a disease. […]

Independent musicians from around coastal B.C. speak about mental health in the industry, following on the heels of a report from music industry leadership consultancy Revelios that identified significant challenges faced by Canadians working in music. The episode features Revelios president and founder Catherine Harrison, as well as musicians Jeff Cancade AKA Devours, NEAVV, and […]

Home Based Recovery Executive Director Rob DeClark says he’s spent the last few decades working in the in patient treatment industry. “ The landscape changed considerably in terms of the amount of options and also in terms of the cost of treatment,” he says. DeClark says that when he entered the field, a six week in […]

The Guardian’s Canada correspondent Leyland Cecco speaks about sharing his experiences with Tourette syndrome in a first person story for the paper. Nanaimo company Cueva Homes President Bill Xing speaks about looking to bring made in China prefabricated tiny homes to the Canadian market.