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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Stigma Free Society’s Program Delivery & Covid-19

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In light of the current uncertainty surrounding the spread of Covid-19; the Stigma Free Society has determined that our responsibility to our staff and the community is best served by suspending all group gatherings, school presentations and public interactions effectively immediately. As such, the women’s group meetings, school and business presentations and other activities, which […]

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From Battling Lifelong Stigmas to Scholarship Award Winner – Meet Juls

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We are incredibly proud to introduce you to Juls Budau, winner of the Stigma-Free Society – Otsuka Lundbeck Alliance Scholarship. Registered in the Masters in Social Work program at the Northern University of British Columbia, Juls will use this scholarship money to pay for her tuition, something she wasn’t sure how she was going to […]

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#ThatWellnessThing – Join us at the Langley Education Centre – Feb. 26th, 2020

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Join us to learn more about mental health and wellness at our 3rd Annual Open House & Community Resource Fair! #ThatWellnessThing WHEN: Wednesday February 26, 2020 – 4:30 – 7PM @ Langley Education Centre. WHERE: 21405A 56 Avenue, Langley, B.C. Students 16+, adults, and school staff welcome. No registration required. Light refreshments and on site […]

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Embracing Emotions to Create Change: Meet Scholarship Winner Kristine Robles

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With the support from the Otsuka-Lunbeck Alliance, we are so proud to announce Kristine Robles as one of the recipients of a Stigma-Free Society scholarship for post-secondary education. Kristine is currently enrolled as a full-time student in the Master of Counselling Psychology: School and Youth program at Adler University. These scholarships are awarded to inspirational […]

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RSVP Today for SFS Annual General Meeting Nov. 11th !

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Our Annual General Meeting will be held on November 11, 2019, at 6:00 – 7:30 pm at the Century Plaza Hotel in Vancouver. Our AGM is sponsored by Century Plaza Hotel and we are extremely grateful that they have offered the Burrard Ballroom for our event. There will be light refreshments provided by our generous […]

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Stigma-Free Society Scholarship Opportunity!

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The Stigma-Free Society is thrilled to be partnering with the Otsuka-Lundbeck Alliance to offer two deserving youth a scholarship of $2000 to be allocated to their educational pursuits. Two B.C. students experiencing the effects of social stigmatization, either because of mental illness, LGBTQ+, homelessness, race, or addictions issues, will be selected to receive this scholarship […]

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AutismBC is Working Towards a Stigma-Free Zone Designation

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Over the past year, AutismBC has worked to create an internal cultural shift. With new leadership in place, the organization has committed to an in-depth process of identifying organizational gaps on matters of inclusion. Not wanting to sit back, and assume, or defend that they are inclusive, staff and board members have dedicated themselves to […]

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Welcome to Lindsay Goulet – Our New Community Development Manager for Van Island

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We are so excited to welcome Lindsay Goulet as our new staff member and leader on Vancouver Island! Robyn Thomas has since gone to Victoria Women’s Transition House as a Community Manager. We are so happy to have had you with us for 3 years Robyn, thank you for your time with the Stigma-Free Society. […]

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Stigma-Free Society Opportunity – Part-Time Community Development Officer

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Stigma-Free Society Employment Job Description Position: Community Development Manager (CDM) Victoria, BC Annual Salary: $30,000 gross salary annually Job Application deadline: September 15th, 2019 Community Development Officer Duties: Act in a leadership role by encouraging and meeting with the Stigma-Free Society’s four program staff members under the direction of the Society’s President; Work as part […]

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Ten-Year Old Owen is Paving the Way for Future Generations

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Owen is 10 years old and started experiencing severe anxiety in grade 2, and his mental illness continues to induce panic attacks during the most difficult moments in his life. He became officially diagnosed in grade 5 with anxiety and depression. I spoke with Owen for this particular story and he is a genuine, cheery, […]

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Hiring a new Stigma-Free Zone School and Community Presenter in Metro Vancouver

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The Stigma-Free Society is currently looking to hire an additional Stigma-Free Zone School and Community Presenter to join our Metro Vancouver team! The Stigma-Free Society provides education and awareness about the effects of stigma, as well as peer support for those facing personal challenges in hopes of fostering acceptance of ourselves and others. One of our […]

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Jason: 1 – Stigma: 0 – My Battle with Mental Illness at Home and in the Workplace

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I was diagnosed with a mental illness at 29 years old, but the greatest challenge I faced wasn’t the illness itself. It is was the suffocating stigma that came with it. I am speaking of the stigma that still surrounds mental illness, and the lack of empathy and understanding that follows – and that’s at […]

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Daddy Issues: My Story

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“She has blue eyes.” That was the first thing my blue-eyed father said about me when I was born. All babies have blue eyes at birth, but mine turned hazel. My dad never knew we had something much bigger in common: bipolar disorder. My dad was unstable, moody and distant. He’d spend thousands of dollars […]

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#PushingForAwareness: 50 Pushups for 50 Days to Raise Awareness for Childhood Mental Illness

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May 1, 2019 Post Author, Lindsay Gee @ www.LindsayGee.ca First and foremost, I need you to know that this entire campaign has been approved by my son. He has read every word, seen every image and approved every step of the creation and planning of this campaign. Why is this important? Because although I dedicate this […]

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From Rags to Contentment

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In August of 2018, I snatched up a last-minute ticket to Burning Man, which is an annual gathering of artists in the Black Rock Desert of northwest Nevada in the USA. I was about to willingly attempt survival in the blistering hot desert for nine days. I recently ditched three very high paying jobs, broke […]

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Transforming Obstacles into Strength: Meet our Scholarship Winner Gabriella!

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Gabriella has made her mental health challenges into one of her greatest strengths, but it didn’t start that way. Struggling with anxiety for as long as she can remember, Gabriella says, “I never knew any different. I thought everyone’s brain just worked that way.” As she got older, the anxiety evolved into recurring panic attacks […]

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Meet our Stigma-Free Society – Otsuka-Lundbeck Alliance Scholarship Winner!

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Many students on campus are carrying around more than just heavy textbooks. Not only burdened by the pressures of fitting in, and keeping up high grades, some students are facing hidden adversity made worse by the effects of stigma. With the support of Otsuka-Lundbeck Alliance, we were able to give two deserving students who have […]

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Join the Stigma-Free Society Team! Recruiting a Vancouver Stigma-Free Zone Presenter!

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The Stigma-Free Society is currently looking to hire an additional Stigma-Free Zone School Presenter to join our team! The Stigma-Free Society provides education and awareness about the effects of stigma, as well as peer support for those facing personal challenges in hopes of fostering acceptance of ourselves and others. One of our primary programs is the Stigma-Free Zone […]

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#thatwellnessthing – Join us at our Second Annual Open House!

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Join Speaker, Andrea Paquette, President and Founder, Stigma-Free Society for the #thatwellnessthing Join the Langley Education Centre to learn more about mental health and wellness at their Second Annual Open House & community resource fair! Wednesday February 27, 2019 4:30-7 PM at Langley Education Centre 21405A 56 Avenue, Langley BC Presentations & Information Tables Mental Health […]

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