Troubled but well-meaning people are changing their social media profile pictures as government buildings are lowering their flag to half mast out of respect for the 215 young lives lost. What is the impact on First Nations communities to the recent discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former Residential School? Patricia Doyle-Bedwell is a Mi’kmaq woman, lawyer and writer. Derek Lewis is a Mi’kmaq man, entrepreneur and former Millbrook resident.

The pandemic has impacted many people in community and has put a strain on resources. LakeCity Works, a Dartmouth-based social enterprise has received a total of $90,000 in grants from Co-operators Community Funds (CCF) over the last three years. The money has been able to help enhance the employability and well-being of people living with mental illness in the community. I spoke with Liam O'Rourke, Executive Director LakeCity Works and Chad Park, VP Sustainability & Citizenship, The Co-operators.

A Psychology Professor from Dalhousie University says mandatory homeschooling is doing more harm than good. Dr. Simon Sherry says the policy in Nova Scotia is corroding parents’ and children’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and is impacting their relationships negatively. We discuss the issues of increased substance use and abuse by parents and his advice going forward.

It's a detailed plan called Keys to a Housing Secure Future for all Nova Scotians. It outlines 95 recommendations for the province to ensure all Nova Scotian's have access to safe, affordable housing. Cape Breton University Associate Professor Catherine Leviten-Reid was the academic lead for the Housing for All Working group. We discuss some of the objectives and objections to help make this ambitious program become reality.

An apology and a financial compensation is being offered to a Halifax man who was the victim of racial discrimination at the hands of two Halifax Police officers. Gyasi Symonds took his case to the Human Rights Board of Inquiry to bring to light the profiling and anti-black racism in policing. Robert Wright is a social worker and advocate who is also involved in a new training program for police called Journey to Change.

One in five Canadians will experience some kind of mental health problem or illness in any given year. And by the time we hit the age of forty, half of us will have, or will have already had a mental illness. Schizophrenia affects about one per cent of the Canadian population. Lesley McCuaig from Hubbards is someone who is living a life post diagnosis and is trying to let others know there is a path to recovery.

Author, musician and entertainer Alan Doyle has been waiting for the pandemic to end just like the rest of us. And in the last fourteen months he's found time to take the first summer off in his adult life and record a new folk record. We talk about mental wellness, creativity and his love of the Montreal Canadiens.

The latest provincial lock-down is impacting many Nova Scotians who are still going to work everyday. A Halifax woman has started an online fundraising campaign to randomly give $500 to front line workers across HRM. Eventually Sarah Dobson and the others behind HaliFunds want to reach out and give to others across Nova Scotia.

May 21 is Endangered Species Day and May 22 is International Day for Biodiversity. Both of these give people a day to focus communications and actions on these subjects. And that's something we discuss with Karen McKendry, Wilderness Outreach Coordinator with the Ecology Action Centre.

More and more young people are misusing prescription over the last decade, resulting in addictions and in some cases lethal consequences. Of any age group, 15 to 25-year-olds are the most likely to misuse prescription drugs but there hasn't been a lot of research on who is most at risk. A new study at Dalhousie University looked at personality types and whether they could indicate who is most at risk of prescription drug misuse. Dr. Sherry Stewart is one of the authors of this new study and is a Canada Research Chair in Addictions and Mental Health.