People First Radio

Kim Mackenzie of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s BC Chapter shares the latest on the Peer Assisted Care Teams (PACT) that the organization is rolling out across BC to help deal with mental health emergencies in communities.

A group of housing providers are saying we need to tweak some of our systems and attitudes around supportive housing. In a column that appeared in the Victoria Times Colonist last month, they called for changes to the Residential Tenancy Act, and identified a tendency towards “firefighting” rather than systematic investments in solutions. The column […]

“Punk rock saved my life” is a phrase you’ll find often in Scream Therapy: A Punk Journey Through Mental Health, a new book from Jason Schreurs. Informed by his lifelong membership in the punk community, it tells the story of Schreurs’ life navigating a bipolar diagnosis in his late forties, and the punks he learns […]

It likely wouldn’t surprise you to hear that people with serious mental health conditions like schizophrenia, experience stigma. Family members and others close to a person with a mental health condition can experience discrimination as well, a concept called stigma by association. A new study from York University found that one in three family members […]

Christopher Andersen is crossing the country for a cause, and he’s doing it on inline skates. The Ladysmith resident has nearly 500 wheels to get him from Whistler to Newfoundland. He set off on Monday, the start of The Canadian Mental Health Association’s Mental Health Week. Anderson lives with bipolar, attention deficit, and hyperactivity disorders. […]

Natalie Frandsen, assistant teaching professor at the School of Public Health and Social Policy at the University of Victoria, discusses how online courses could better support student mental health. The subject was the topic of Frandsen’s doctoral thesis, as well as a recent article in The Conversation.      

Jordan Reems is taking the stage to share a deeply personal story. For more than a year, Jordan has been learning and practicing his little brother Anthony’s songs. Anthony passed away in 2021. He was a talented musician. On Friday April 28th, Jordan will be sharing some of Anthony’s music in The Sound Is Lost, […]

Nearly ten years ago, Natalie Senik says a doctor told her that because of her mental health, she would never work or be in a relationship again. Now Senik has flipped the script. The Victoria resident has been working in peer support following a career change a few years ago. She also writes about her […]

Dr. Joshua Greggain, President of Doctors of British Columbia, discusses the situation around walk-in clinics in Nanaimo and the surrounding region.  

Located in Fanny Bay, Operation Freedom Paws helps people who have experienced challenges like post traumatic stress disorder, and type 1 diabetes train their own service dogs. People First Radio’s Joe Pugh paid a visit to a day of training to learn more about the program.

Brigida Crosbie is the founder and owner of Tydel foods in Chilliwack. The store, named after her two daughters, Tyanna and Delana, operates at a low markup – food is priced only slightly higher than it costs them to get in. They also provide seniors with a heavily discounted food package. Crosbie Says her mission […]

Every day since last September, rain or shine – or snow, Clay Johnson has gone for a swim in the ocean. The grade 11 student is just over halfway through a full year of daily dips. Called Swim to Eat, Johnson’s campaign is designed to raise funds and awareness for those experiencing eating disorders – […]

"That's what life's about. If you don't help other people, you're not doing much"  "I can't solve people's problems, but I can help make their life less painful."

Natasha Karod took part in the Inside-Out Prison Exchange program at Vancouver Island University as an outside student. She spoke about her experience with People First Radio’s Joe Pugh at The Vault Cafe in Nanaimo. To hear an interview with former inside student Joey Cramer click here. To hear an interview with criminology professor Joanne […]

Joey Cramer took part in the Inside-Out program offered at Vancouver Island University as an inside student in one of the first classes offered after the program came to Nanaimo in 2016. He visited the CHLY studio to speak about his experience. To hear former outside student Natasha Karod speak about her experience with the […]

The Inside-Out program at Vancouver Island University brings undergraduates together with learners inside the prison system for a semester of shared learning. Criminology professor Joanne Falvai brought Inside-Out to Nanaimo in 2016. She spoke with People First Radio about what she’s been able to see at the program in the years since. You can hear […]

Co-facilitators Josh Drummond and Alex Schiebel discuss the Beyond Blame program offered by the Nanaimo Family Life Association. The free program seeks to help men looking to move beyond abusive behaviors and build healthy relationships. More information about the Beyond Blame program can be found by clicking here.  

Registered Nurse Nicole Klementis speaks to People First Radio about her experience as a student in Vancouver Island University’s Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Program. The program is the first of its kind from an accredited Canadian University and this is the first year it is being offered. You can hear more about a study linked to […]

Dr. Pamela Kryskow is the medical chair of Vancouver Island University’s Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Program. She’s also a founding board member of the Psychedelic Association of Canada, and medical lead for the non-profit psychedelic assisted therapy healthcare practice Roots to Thrive. Dr. Kryskow spoke with People First Radio about a clinical trial exploring the use […]

Dr. Valorie Masuda, palliative care physician and general practitioner in oncology, outlines a clinical trial that will study psilocybin assisted group therapy for patients with a terminal diagnosis. The research is related to the psychedelic assisted therapy program at Vancouver Island University.  

Leif Gregersen on the educational work he does with the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta, and his own experiences with mental illness.

John McCormick, incoming executive director of Nanaimo’s new Systems Planning Organization explains how it aims to coordinate the community’s strategy on housing and homelessness.  

This month nearly one hundred people gathered at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre to discuss solutions to the toxic drug poisoning crisis in Nanaimo. Among the voices included on the episode are Snuneymuxw elder Yetta (Connie Paul), Central Island’s Medical Health Officer Dr. Sandra Allison, Community Action Team co-chair Sarah Lovegrove, Lanae Silva, Sarah Doyle, […]

Historian Chris Elcock discusses George Peters and the LSD Rescue Service. Peters founded the service in Chicago in the 1960s. It helped psychedelic drug users through negative experiences, and Elcock argues, was an early form of harm reduction.

Vancouver Island University History Professor Cheryl Warsh discusses gender, class, alcohol, and drugs in Canada since 1850. An essay by Warsh on the subject appears in the book “Pleasure and Panic”, published by UBC Press, which Warsh also co-edited.