Many people spoke emotionally about experiences with addiction and recovery at a recent public hearing in Parksville. At issue is a proposed addiction treatment centre, which would be run by Island Health, and offer a voluntary only 90 day treatment program for people aged 19 and over. There would be 19 beds at the site, […]

From overcoming challenges like experiencing homelessness as a youth in Thunder Bay, to learning about traditional plant medicines and family history from her grandfather, Chrystal Toop shares some of the journey that led her to start Blackbird Medicines, a cultural wellness program where she now supports Indigenous people training to be end of life doulas. […]

When People First Radio first took to the airwaves on November 22 2007, Jan Coleman was there. She served as co-host with Kevin Midbo through 2010, and helped guide the program through its early years. Jan passed away recently, and People First Radio took some time to remember her impact on the show. Former host […]

Death educator and Nipissing University professor Susan Srigley starts her semesters off by having students reflect on their personal experiences with death. “The majority of those assignments tell a story of students who have not been supported around death, have not been prepared for death, and largely their experience is one of isolation and silence,” […]

Health historian Matthew Smith says that relatively speaking, many governments are doing less to address mental health than they were decades ago, and until that changes, state health providers will never be able to keep up. In a recent article published in the conversation, the University of Strathclyde professor pointed to poverty and inequality as […]

When she was 32 years old, Tara Sidhoo Fraser had a stroke, and experienced the loss of most of her memories. She’s written about her recovery in the weeks, months, and years that followed in a new memoir, When My Ghost Sings. Sidhoo Fraser says sharing her story has created an outpouring of connection. “I […]

In conversation with Marla Zucht, general manager of the Whistler Housing Authority, a municipally owned corporation that aims to house at least 75 per cent of the community’s workforce.  

Victoria Maxwell shares insights on her recovery process managing bipolar, psychosis, and anxiety. Maxwell says acceptance of her diagnosis was “the greatest liberator,” but it only happened after she met a healthcare team that was willing to work with her. “Once I did meet a psychiatrist and a nurse who really inquired about the reasons […]

Paul Chapman of the Nanaimo and Area Land Trust joins People First Radio’s Joe Pugh for a walk around Cottle Lake in Nanaimo’s Linley Valley. Stephanie Merrill of the Nature Trust of New Brunswick shares the work going on related to conservation in that province.

Daniel Snyder, chair of the Langley Community Action Team, shares his story recovering from heroin addiction while working in the trades, and his reflections on the toxic drug poisoning crisis.