Gurleen Kaur of The University of Alberta speaks about her experience with psychosis. “Often people will read in textbooks, or papers…that psychosis is this break in reality,” she said. ” It doesn’t quite capture what it means to me, based on my experience.” Kaur said psychosis can cause her to see faces, which in the […]

Looking at how our brains are depicted onscreen with Heather and Sarah Taylor. The Canadian sisters work in the film industry, and explore depictions of mental illness, disability, and a variety of other topics on their podcast Braaains. Heather Taylor says often times shows can treat mental illness like a “problem of the week”. “I […]

David Dorson is the pen name of someone who spent a few years in prison in Ontario. he writes a column about his experiences on the website of Law 360 Canada. He spoke with People First Radio about his experiences.

Lee Chapelle has helped hundreds of inmates navigate their way through the Canadian corrections system. The founder of Canadian Prison Consulting, he also spent much of his young adulthood behind bars, beginning at age 16. Now Chapelle works with clients to address the issues that led to their charges and incarceration, and to prepare them […]

Would you exercise more for a dollar a day? Marc Mitchell of Western University was working in cardiac rehab, he noticed it was difficult for people to stick with a routine of regular exercise. That got him interested in ways to motivate people to get moving. “Folks who in some cases, literally died, like flatlined, […]

Finland, with a population of around 5.5 million, has just over 1000 people who are considered to be experiencing long term homelessness. That number has been steadily decreasing for decades, thanks to investment in social and affordable housing. The country’s largest non profit housing provider is a group called The Y Foundation, founded in 1985. […]

Journalist Meagan Gillmore reflects on the question “why do I have to constantly prove my disability?” Gillmore explored the subject in a recent column in The Walrus. “I do remember still to this day, very much feeling like, ‘oh yeah, I have a disability and this is part of my life,’ but I’ve always kind […]

Pacifica Housing CEO Carolina Ibarra joined People First Radio to talk a number of issues related to supportive housing, including new announcements in Nanaimo, The Nanaimo Acute Response Table, difficulties with data around supportive housing, and units in need of maintenance. “The way that we view and deal with supportive housing has to change because […]

For the first time in more than a decade, child poverty rates have gone up in British Columbia, according to a report from First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society. Their 2023 BC Child Poverty Report Card offers insight on data from 2021, breaking down child poverty rates by family type, race, and region, and […]

Heather Nelson-Smith, CAO of Port Hardy, shares the details on the community’s new situation table. Situation tables are a method communities in British Columbia are using to try and connect individuals at risk of harm to services that could help them. At weekly meetings, members from different community organizations collaborate on how, when, and who […]