Simon Katterl led a team tasked by the government of Victoria, Australia to advise the state’s minister for mental health on how to acknowledge harms caused by the mental health system. Speaking with People First Radio, Katterl said there can be a temptation to frame harms as a result of an underfunded system, or one […]

Simon Fraser University’s Nick Blomley shares findings from research into people’s experiences of dispossession while precariously housed.

Research published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry found that rates of involuntary psychiatric hospitalization have been increasing in British Columbia. Will Small, a professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University, and a research scientist with the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use helped author that research. He joined People First […]

Jessica Michalofsky wrapped up a journey of almost 900 Kilometres on Sunday in front of the legislature in Victoria. In late May, she set off running from Nelson in memory of her son Aubrey, who died from toxic drug poisoning. Michalofsky was greeted by a crowd of around 100 people at a rally organized by […]

Cheyenne Johnson, executive director of the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, discusses the Road To Recovery Initiative set to roll out at St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.

This spring, new research into the lived experience of evictions in Canada was released. Commissioned by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, it was the largest study of its kind ever done in the country. People First Radio spoke with lead author David Wachsmuth, Canada Research Chair in Urban Governance, and Associate Professor of Urban […]

Carmen Lavoie had been interested in the end of life process for a while. But the social work professor at Vancouver Island University says it was her own cancer diagnosis that really made things come into focus. Now, Lavoie is getting set to launch a new end of life doula Course this fall. On top […]

Kix Citton, executive director of the Nanaimo Brain Injury Society discusses aspects of brain injury in the community which may fly under the radar.  

The Cultivating Abilities Program from the Nanaimo Foodshare is well underway. It’s a 19 week program for people who self identify as having a disability (diverse ability). Participants are trained in agriculture, the food industry, and employability skills. People First Radio’s Joe Pugh paid a visit to the Five Acres Farm in Harewood to learn […]

In conversation with Eugenia Oviedo-Joekes, Canada Research Chair in Person-Centered Care in Addictions and Public Health, and a professor at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia.