AutismBC Earns a Stigma-Free Zone Designation

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The Stigma-Free Society is proud to announce AutismBC’s official designation as a Stigma-Free Zone! Over the past year, AutismBC has been working with Stigma-Free Society in order to overcome barriers to full inclusion, diversity and equity within the organization. Having the awareness that their organization has room to grow in these areas was a powerful […]

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Meet our Stigma-Free Scholarship Winner Megan!

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“I really had to grieve my changed sense of identity when I was diagnosed, at first, because I took it hard.” These were Megan’s thoughts as she remembered the moment she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder two years ago. Megan struggled with a lot of self-stigma and biases that had come from what she had […]

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Meet our Scholarship Winner – Trisha Cull

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  We are extremely proud to introduce to you Trisha Cull, winner of the Otsuka-Lundbeck Alliance and Stigma-Free Society Scholarship. Registered in the Inter-professional Mental Health & Addictions (IMHA) post-graduate program at Camosun College, Trisha will use this money to help pay for her tuition and books, something she wasn’t sure how she was going […]

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Our School Presentations Have Gone VIRTUAL

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What a year 2020 has been! As with most everything and everyone, the Stigma-Free Society continues to adapt to rules and regulations dictated by this incredible global pandemic we are living through. We’d like to offer our sincerest gratitude to everyone in the Stigma-Free community who continue to support us, get involved and expand our […]

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16 Ways to Boost Your Mood & Mental Wellness

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The Covid-19 global pandemic has changed the way most of us live our lives. While we maneuver our way through month after month of new restrictions, it’s taken a toll on many people’s mental health. The way we used to live our day-to-day lives has changed drastically and although it is hard to keep up,  […]

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Visit the Student Mental Health Toolkit

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The Stigma-Free Society believes that mental health education ought to be integrated into all classrooms across British Columbia and beyond. Over the past few months we’ve been working hard to create our Student Mental Health Toolkit for youth, educators, school counsellors, and parents/guardians, who want to teach and promote mental wellness for Grades 4-7 and […]

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The Importance of Mental Health Education in Schools

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Early social and emotional development lay the foundation for resiliency throughout the lifespan. However, 70% of adults with mental illness see symptoms emerge in childhood and adolescence. Some facts you should know… • Mental illness affects approximately 1.2 million youth in Canada. • By age 25, that number increases to 7.5 million (1 in 5 […]

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The Stigma-Free Society Supports You this Coming Fall and Always

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Summer is ending and Fall is definitely in the air and our team at the Stigma-Free Society is feeling a little humbled, nostalgic and thankful. We are all living through a global pandemic and no one knows what is to come next, but for now, we want to take a moment to wish all of […]

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Mental Well-Being and Our Canadian Farmers

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“I wonder how the farmers’ mental well-being is today, this week, this month, or this year?” Has this thought ever crossed your mind?

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5 Ways to Boost your Mental Health in 35 Minutes or Less

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Let’s face it – some days you just feel crummy. Whether you had a terrible sleep, you’re stressed out or you just woke up in a negative mood – bad moods and negative mental health days happen. The good news? There are quite a few ways you can positively impact your mood and put yourself […]

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Apply Today for a $2000 Stigma-Free Scholarship for Post-Secondary Students

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The Stigma-Free Society is extremely proud to announce that we are once again partnering with Otsuka-Lundbeck Alliance to offer TWO deserving post-secondary students a $2000 scholarship to be allocated toward their educational pursuits. This is the third year that the Society has been able to provide these amazing scholarships and it is because of our […]

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The Stigma-Free Society is Growing, Expanding & Looking for Feedback!

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What a ride it’s been since March 2020 with COVID-19 and all the things that come along with living through a pandemic! Before COVID-19, much of the work of the Stigma-Free Society was conducted through in-person presentations at schools and organizations where we would educate youth and teens about mental health awareness, the elimination of […]

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We Reached our $20k Goal! THANK YOU!

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A Warm and Grateful Message from the Stigma-Free Society Team… We had an INCREDIBLE week last week with our first ever online fundraiser “”Helping Stigma-Free Society During COVID-19”. Through the generous support of the beautiful community around us, we reached our goal of $20,000 and we couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who donated and […]

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Special Guest Blogger – Jenica Pong: On COVID-19 as a Student and Taking Virtual Action!

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It was a huge change not returning in class after spring break. With the weight of the pandemic sinking in I began to understand how this would affect the rest of my year: no band concert, no year end dance show, no school carnival; I wouldn’t be playing Pomp and Circumstance or get to watch […]

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Stigma-Free COVID-19 Online Full-Day Fundraiser – We Need Your Help!

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At the Stigma-Free Society we are extremely proud of the work we have been doing to educate and raise awareness about various stigmas, with a focus on mental health in schools, businesses and organizations. When COVID-19 hit, the way we educate and help students and individuals in the community had to change. We responded urgently […]

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10 Ways to Boost Your Mental Health on a Rainy Day

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A lot of people love a good rainy day. It’s a great excuse to hunker down under your blankets and stay inside for the day. However, for some, rainy days can be really difficult, particularly if they’re battling a mental illness like depression or anxiety. The good news? There are ways for you to boost […]

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Tips for Parents to Help Their Kids Cope with “Increasing the Bubble”

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For months now, we have been waiting for news on when and how we will get back to our new “normal” after COVID-19. Now, as we begin to see our world slowly opening back up,  be aware that your kids may have more questions, more anxiety and more worry over the coming weeks. While this […]

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How Educators Can Use our NEW COVID-19 Youth Wellness Toolkit

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The Stigma-Free Society has been extremely pleased with the feedback on our new Stigma-Free COVID-19 Youth Wellness Toolkit. This new Toolkit is an online community-based participatory program that aims to promote mental wellness in grades 4-6 and grades 7-12. Both parents and students have provided incredibly useful feedback on the site, and the Charity is […]

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Stigma-Free COVID-19 Youth Wellness Toolkit – COMING SOON!

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The Stigma-Free Society is bound and determined to continue to educate youth on mental health issues and combat stigma of all kinds. With COVID-19 putting a halt to our school presentations, we decided to create a new online Stigma-Free COVID-19 Youth Wellness Toolkit. Our new online COVID-19 Toolkit Program will inform educators and students in […]

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Take Care of Yourself! Mental Health Supports during COVID-19 Crisis

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Author Daniel To, District Principal, Surrey School District (Guest Post) Take Care of Yourself! Mental Health Supports during COVID-19 Crisis Other than for those who are true introverts – and are really relishing this current opportunity to stay home during the COVID19 crisis – (aka my father and my brother Dr. Nathan To https://www.thecounterstory.com) this […]

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