Life Unscripted - Stories of Mental Health and Addiction

Niagara Regional housing has put together a 10 poinr plan to reduce homelessness and, importantly, provide some space and programs for people living rough.  A temporary 24-hour a temporary shelter has opended where people have their own room, 3 meals a day and a large recreational area.The recommendations came from a committee that included people with lived experience with homelessness and/or substance use.  Marni Katzman is on the show to talk about the plan and the interest from municipalties across the province.

When people see someone who is homeless they probably think it could never happen to them. But at some point in time a person living rough and in a shelter did have a home. They may have had a family, friends and a good job. There are so many reasons why people end up living rough – job loss, mental health, trauma or substance use. In Marni Katzman’s case, she was addicted to alcohol, and despite a few stints in rehab she wasn’t able to stop drinking vodka. Finally, her family had to make the hard decision to show some tough love. Marni walked into a shelter wearing pink Uggs and pulling a designer suitcase.

Darcy Patrick is a Mental Health advocate, speaker, coach and author of 5 books about his journey from severe depression to wellness.  Two years ago he ended up in hospital in excruciating back pain.  Doctors still haven’t figured out what caused the serious erosion in two discs in his back and he still lives with debilitating pain. I met Darcy almost 10 years ago and he is one of the most determined people I know so I asked him to share how he’s using his mental health skills to help him live with constant pain.

Schizophrenia is the least understood and the most stigmatized any mental illness.  Imagine how scary it can be for the person living with schizophrenia when every minute of the day voices in their head talking to them. When we hear someone yelling on the street, they're yelling at their voices. Signs and symptoms may vary, but usually involve delusions, hallucinations or disorganized speech, and reflect an impaired ability to function in daily routines.The stigma of is so strong that many people don’t want to talk about their illness, or aren't well enough, but Jesse Bigelow is on the show today to share his experiences.

Tara Mckendrick is Executive Director of Canadian mental health association Niagara.  Taratalks about CMHA Niagara crisis services and also help define what is a crisis. Like most communities Niagara has a homeless and addiction crisis but Tara says we can’t just look at solving the problem, we have to find out the story of how a person got to where they are.  It will help people think about possibilities and maybe find hope. Canadian Mental Health Association Niagiara: https://niagara.cmha.caCanadian Mental Health Association National: https://cmha.caIf you are having thoughts of suicide call or text 9-8-8 The Suicide Crisis Help Line

9-8-8 is a new 3-digit suicide crisis help line is being rolled out across Canada. The line will connect people who are experiencing thoughts of suicide to their to their local suicide prevention lines and make it easier for areas that don’t currently have a line. 988 is for people who are in crisis but does not replace 911, which should still be called if someone is in danger or actively trying to harm themselves.The Center for  Addiction and Mental Health was tasked with creating the line and to work with local mental health organizations to help them set up the technology to implement it.Dr. Allison Crawford leads the 9-8-8 team.Learn more about 988 on the CAMH Website

No one likes to have cold feet and most of us take for granted that we can buy warm socks and be comfortable during the winter. But so many people who are homeless or struggling financially to keep food on the table aren’t able to buy basic necessities like socks. Kids are going to school without warm socks or sometimes no socks at all. SocksforChange.ca founder Sam Baio saw the need for warm socks and started Socksforchange.ca in Niagara, which is a volunteer run charity that donates thousands of warm wool socks to organizations and schools across Niagara. To buy socks or donate go to: socksforchange.ca

Feed Ontario has released it’s annual Hunger Report. Five million people visited foods banks across the province in the past year. One in 6 identified as having a job.  Sadly,  food bank visits have increased at the same time people’s ability to give has declined.  On the show today are Carolyn Stewart CEO of Feed Ontario and Christine Clark-Lafleur CEO of Port Cares and part of Feed Niagara.

A decision on whether to offer Medical Assistaince in Dying – or MaiD -  to people living with a mental illness in Canada has  been delayed again until March of 2024.It’s such a complex issue and there’s a real division in the mental health community over whether MaiD should be expanded to include mental health. Some psychiatrists are firmly against it and others are firmly in favour.We mostly hear about MaiD for people who have terminal illness with no chance of recovery, such as end stage cancer.  But in fact, death doesn’t have to be imminent or foreseeable but the illness must be quote "grievous and irremediable".As of now there are no agreed upon standards for psychiatrists or other healthcare practitioners.The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is concerned with the federal government’s intention to extend MAiD eligibility to people whose sole medical condition is mental illness, in part because of the lack of consensus on the issue.Eram Chhogala is an emergency trauma nurse in Toronto and she has been on the show a few times to talk about the increasing number of people coming to emergency with a mental health issue. She doesn't support  MaiD for mental illness. Instead, she says governments should put more money into researching treatments.

National Addiction Awareness Week (Nov. 10-25, 2023) is spearheaded by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.  Inspiration, Innovation and Inclusion is this year's focus. CCSA has released a report on the cost of substance use and addiction. It found that in 2020, substance use in Canada cost $49.1 billion, largely from alcohol and tobacco. Opioid deaths accounted for $7 billion with 75% of that attributed to young people dying.  Marnie Prokator from Community and Addiction Services of Niagara, or CASON, talks about the wide variety of services CASON provides. They are free and no referral is needed.For more information about CASON go to - cason.ca

This year the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is focusing it’s no one left behind fundraising campaign on substance use and addiction.  Opioid use and deaths are still the biggest crisis with more 7300 deaths in Canada in 2022. But use of stimulants like methamphetamine, also know as crystal meth, is also increasing.  Mixed drug toxicity, for example meth with an opioid, is a major contributor to overdoses and deaths.Dr. Leslie Buckley is chief of addcition services at CAMH and she’s on the show today to talk about stimulants.

Important news from Pathstone Mental Health. Pathstone is now the direct access point for all publicly funded mental health services in Niagara for children aged birth-18 years.  It's taking over from Contact Niagara so parents and youth now have a single intake number to call for all mental health services in the region.Please call or e-mail Pathstone directly at 905-688-6850 ext. 8 or intake@pathstone.ca You can also complete an intake form online at www.pathstonementalhealth.ca. Also exciting this fall is the opening of the River House location in Welland and the new pop-up walk-in clinic at Seaway Mall, based on the successful walk-in at the Pen Centre.

The media plays an important role in forming public opinion and jouranists and their media outlets need to change the way they report on violence against women.  Gillian’s Place - a shelter for women in Niagara - has put together a free online course on Responsible Media Reporting of Gender-Based Violence and Gendered Issues.The course dives into how much words matter and the ways media should report gender issues.Gillian’s Place Project Manager Laura Ip is on the show today to talk about this complex issue.Note: This free course was developed with the media in mind but is open to everyone.  You can go directly to gilliansplace.com/responsible media or on the website under Community Education.

Talking with someone who knows what you're going through can make all the difference when you're in hospital for treatment of a mental illness. Faith Rockburne, who is a Peer Support worker at St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto, finds personal healing for herself as well knowing that she is helping someone recover.Faith was on the show last week to talk about her lifelong battle with treatment resistant depression. Group therapy played a major role in her recovery and she's using that experience to help others.

Faith Rockburne has lived with mental illness most of her life from anorexia as a teenager to severe depression as an adult.  Her depression and anxiety got worse as she got older until she stopped going out of her house and eventually lost her job. Faith’s road to recovery has been long and difficult - anti-depressants didn’t  work and after trying electro confulsive therapy – or ECT - she was told there was nothing left to try but group therapy.  She did finally find an effective medication but she says the biggest change came after she joined a peer support group.

Eram Chhogala is an emergency room and trauma nurse at a hospital in Toronto. She says more and more people are coming to emergency rooms for help for mental health or substance use. She believes it's because there is so much financial stress – the cost of living or maybe losing a job – and they have no other place to go for help.

Losing a pet can be very hard but adults expect it when their pet gets to a certain age and we know it’s ok to be sad, even cry.  Children feel the loss in a very different way and as parents we want to protect them from sadness and may feel it’s best to buffer the sadness with euphemisms, like "he’s gone to sleep" or "she’s gone away", leaving the child wondering when their pet will be home.Dr. Joshua Russel from Canisius University in Buffalo has focused much of his research on children's relationships with animals. He’s interviewed children of all different ages on how their pet died, how they felt at the time and how they’ve coped and he has some advice for parents.

Gambling is known as the hidden addiction. Many people play at online gaming sites, go to casinos or maybe they start by betting with friends or buying lottery tickets. For most people it's just some fun and doesn't affect their daily life. But for some the obession can lead to losing their family, friends and even their job.Community and Addiction Services of Niagara – or CASON - provides comprehensive treatment for alcohol, drug and gambling/gaming and internet addiction for individuals and their families. CASON's Marnie Prokator is on the show and you may be surprised when you hear what can be considered a gambling problem. For more information to to https://cason.ca

Last spring, New Brunswick became the first province to require teachers to have parental consent to use a child’s preferred name or pronoun in the classroom  if they are under the age of 16. It’s a complete change from the previous policy that made if mandatory for teachers to use preferred names and pronouns for all children.Now Saskatchewan has implemented a similar policy, Ontario’s Education Minister believes parents should be making the decision although so far there has been no change in policy and Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative leader says she’ll bring in the same policy if elected in October.Quest Community Health Centre in St. Catharines provides health care and counselling to the 2SLGBTQ+ community, as well as specific transdgender health care through it’s Rainbow Niagara program. Manager Stephanie Vail and outreach worker Kai Kristoff are on the show today to talk about the Rainbow Niagara program.

Episode description not available.