People First Radio

Research from the University of British Columbia found three main categories of men in heterosexual relationships. John Oliffe, a professor at UBC and the Canada Research Chair in men’s health promotion, spoke with People First Radio about the research, masculinity, and relationships.

Spenser Smith wanted to respond to online comments denigrating people who use drugs, so the VIU creative writing grad turned to poetry. In A Brief Relief From Hunger, published by Gordon Hill Press, Smith reflects on his childhood, and his own recovery from addiction. Along the way, he weaves in poems inspired by posts from […]

UBC’s Jiaying Zhao and Foundations For Social Change’s Amber Dyce explore the results and process of a study that offered unconditional transfers of $7500 to people experiencing homelessness.

Sarah Lovegrove, outgoing chair of Nanaimo’s Community Action Team, speaks with People First Radio’s Joe Pugh at the Vault Cafe about the state of the toxic drug poisoning crisis in Nanaimo.  

In conversation with Rachel Herron, Canada Research Chair in Rural and Remote Mental Health, and a professor at Brandon University.

Speeches and stories from an Aug 31 event held in Maffeo Sutton Park to mark International Overdose Awareness Day. Featuring the voices of Amber McGrath, Sarah Lovegrove, Qui Sepulveda, Lenae Silva, Sheila Malcolmson, Aimee Chalifoux,Wanda LeBlanc (Moms Stop the Harm), Laura Lee James, Heather MacDonald, and Patrick Aleck.

Marie-Josée Houle, Canada’s first federal housing advocate, was appointed to the role in February 2022. Houle joined People First Radio to speak about housing in Canada and her work in the role thus far.

The Village, a supportive housing site in Duncan, is attracting attention from other communities looking to emulate its model. With 34 modular units, it was able to quickly go from proposal to reality, and while there was opposition to the site before it opened and in its early days, it’s operators say public opinion in […]

Bennet Caffee shares the story behind Orange You Glad To Be in Miami. The one man show premiered this week at the Nanaimo Fringe Festival, and recounts Caffee’s first manic episode, which occurred in his early twenties.

Ali Gaul and her daughter Grace Martin share the family story behind Lucky Casanova, Martin’s one woman show, currently playing at the Nanaimo Fringe Festival.  

Carolyn Whitzman, housing and social policy consultant, joins People First Radio to explore the federal government’s role in Canadian housing policy from the 1940s through to the present day.

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.

Patrick Cools, drug checking technician, and Destiny Herman, operations coordinator, both with the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Mid Island Branch, talk drug checking in Nanaimo. The service is offered at the CMHA’s overdose prevention site on 250 Albert St.

Piotr Burek, research assistant and graduate student with Substance Drug Checking in Victoria, discusses what can drug checking tell us, what its limitations are at the moment, and what are we seeing in the drug supply right now.  

In her new memoir Chronic Conditions, University of Windsor professor Karen Engle wanted to explore using language to “capture what it’s like to be in a body that appears to work from the outside, when its internal systems operate through an ad hoc assemblage of garbled messaging, reroutings, and shaky foundations.” Engle has been dealing […]

Victoria has a new community led crisis response team. It started a gradual rollout earlier this year, and is designed to respond to mental health emergencies in the community avoiding police involvement wherever possible. It’s being operated by AVI Health Services. Dreanna Picard, an experiential crisis response worker with the team, and Lacey Mesley, its […]