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The Bigger Picture

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Mental health and well-being are so much bigger than one person. They include every part of our lives. When people have the right tools and supports in place, they can flourish regardless of health problems. When people do not have the support they need or are excluded, the entire community suffers.

Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Mental Health Issue

Our experiences in childhood play a big part in shaping our health and well-being throughout our lives. Sexual abuse in childhood can leave scars that can last for a long…

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Criminal Justice

Fact Sheets These information sheets were developed for general use by police, public, people with mental illness and family members, paramedics, etc. They are written in a simple, direct format,…

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Cross-cultural Mental Health

Our communities are culturally diverse. We know that mental health and substance use problems affect everyone, regardless of their background, culture or ethnicity, but current mental health and substance use…

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Engaging People with Lived Experience

Embracing the voice of people with mental illness and addiction is one of the key values of CMHA. This workbook is designed to help CMHA and other like-minded service providers…

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Evaluating Mental Health and Substance Use Information

With all of the information coming at us these days, it can be hard to filter out what is good information and what information isn’t so good. This is especially…

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Family and Youth Peer Support

The Strengthening Family and Youth Voices project was a province-wide project exploring the role of peer support in child and youth mental health. The goals of the project were to…

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Housing

Decent, safe, affordable housing is one of the most important factors that affect our mental health. Poor housing, such as housing that’s too expensive, run-down or over-crowded, can lead to…

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Mental Illness and Substance Use in the Workplace

One in five of us will experience a mental illness or substance use problem at some point in our lifetime. It only makes sense that something that affects our everyday…

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Myths About Mental Illness

Mental illnesses affect everyone in some way. We all likely know someone who has experienced a mental illness at some point. Yet there are still many hurtful attitudes around mental…

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Privacy and Information Sharing Resources

CMHA BC, with support from the Ministry of Health, has developed the information sharing best practice guides below. These guides are to serve as reference tools for practitioners, individuals and…

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Stigma and Discrimination

About one in five people—over six and a half million Canadians—experience a mental illness or substance use problem in their lifetime. Unfortunately, many people don’t ask for help because they…

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Training for Police and Other First Responders

A 2008 research study by the Vancouver Police Department found that more than one-third of all calls for Vancouver Police involve people with mental health issues. In the Downtown Eastside,…

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Unemployment, Mental Health and Substance Use

Unemployment rates among people living with mental health problems are incredibly high—even among people who want to work. Seventy to 90% of people living with serious mental illnesses in Canada…

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Violence, Mental Illness and Substance Use

Many people fear violence, particularly violence that seems random or unpredictable. We often deal with this fear by av oiding people or situations that we believe might lead to violence….

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Visions: BC’s Mental Health and Addictions Journal

BC’s Mental Health and Addictions Journal Visions is an award-winning quarterly magazine that brings together many views on mental health and substance use. It’s a place to explore different aspects…

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