People First Radio
by Vancouver Island Mental Health Society
Latest episode
Puppeteer DerRic Starlight shares story of months living on the…
Puppeteer DerRic Starlight shares story of months living on the…
About this podcast
People First Radio is a weekly one-hour radio broadcast to educate and raise awareness about issues related to health and wellness — with a particular emphasis on topics related to mental illness and mental health, homelessness and housing, and addiction, harm reduction and recovery.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 384 episodes
- Puppeteer DerRic Starlight shares story of months living on the streets of Alberta · 57 minPuppeteer, actor and comedian DerRic Starlight has shared the story of long stretches spent living on the streets of Calgary and Edmonton around a decade ago. Back in 2014…
- Psychologist talks ADHD and masking · 43 minPsychologist and Simon Fraser University Professor Grace Iarocci has been looking at how people with ADHD may be working extra hard to try and blend in. “Masking is this concept…
- Down and Out in Utopia explores experience of unemployment in Norway · 57 minKelly McKowen spent years talking with people who were unemployed in Norway. In his book Down and Out in Utopia, the assistant professor of Anthropology at the College of William…
- Qualicum Beach marks National Day for Truth and Reconciliation · 30 minCommunity came together in Qualicum Beach Wednesday, September 30, to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day begin with a gathering at ts’xwelikwshenawtxw…
- Prison caregiving program for inmates with dementia inspires film · 27 minThe Gold Coat Program at the California Men’s Colony State Prison sees long term inmates serve as caregivers for inmates with dementia. Filmmaker Petra Volpe first learned about…
- Vancouver film set for hometown premiere explores themes of urban Indigenous queer sex work · 28 minJustin Ducharme says his debut feature film Seventeen was inspired by his own experiences living in Vancouver. “ Something that I’ve always been really interested in as a…
- ‘Minding the City’ offers a first hand look at nature, depression, and public space · 37 minIn 2013, walking a Winnipeg labyrinth helped Corey Bialek consider a contemplative question: what would it mean to not be depressed? The labyrinth was not curative, but it was…
- Personal connections to toxic drug crisis shared at island overdose awareness day events · 57 minSpeakers in Parksville and Courtenay joined a chorus of voices all over the world coming together in their communities to mark International Overdose Awareness Day. Observed…
- Journalist Rob Csernyik talks gambling health harms in Canada · 46 minRob Csernyik is an investigative journalist who lives in Atlantic Canada and covers the gambling beat. He’s the author of A Losing Hand, a new book that takes a look at the issue…
- National organization offers playbook for small cities to address substance use harms · 24 minThe Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction(CCSA) has shared a resource meant to help smaller Canadian cities address substance use harms. “The Playbook for Action has…
- Victoria organization Peers talks supporting sex workers · 33 minPeers Victoria Resources Society recently marked its 30th anniversary. The organization helps sex workers in the capital region. “Sex workers in our area often can encounter…
- The road to a standard unit of THC in Canadian cannabis · 33 minA team at the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction is working on a framework for a standardized unit of THC in Canada. “The concentration of THC found in cannabis has…
- Interactive map scores public land across B.C. for housing potential · 24 minA project from UBC’s Housing Assessment Resource Tools (HART) team has identified public land across the province and scored it for housing potential. HART Associate Director…
- Vancouver Island group looking to understand and address stigma in the hospital · 57 minA team in the Comox Valley has been working to understand and address the barriers faced by people when they visit the hospital. Sharon Karsten, a professor at Vancouver Island…
- Psychiatrists provide evidence-backed insights on coping · 39 minDuring the outbreak of a new and potentially fatal disease in Toronto in 2003, it fell to psychiatrists Bob Maunder and Jon Hunter to help people in the SARS ward cope. The two…
- “We can’t solve our housing crisis until we solve our crisis of home,” argues author · 45 minJournalist and author Jessica Barrett argues we can’t solve our housing crisis until we solve our crisis of home. Barrett is the author of No Place Like Home: The Missing Key to…
- Researchers call for more inclusive focus aids · 29 minA group out of UBC says distraction blocking apps are often marketed at neurodiverse people, but little is known about how they are actually used. Kevin Chow and Marvel Hariadi…
- The Bylaw State explores public space, encampments, municipalities, and the courts · 28 minA UBC law prof argues that homelessness in Canada is governed by a patchwork of municipal bylaws. Alexandra Flynn is co-author of The Bylaw State, a book that explores municipal…
- Talking boredom, substance use, and homelessness · 36 minAfter a decade of work with vulnerable populations, Cory Herzog-Fequet went back to school looking to help shine light on a structural issue. “It’s very meaningful to work…
- New building addition — and new name for Salvation Army Centre of Hope in Nanaimo · 18 minAfter years of construction work, new shelter space is expected to open this month in downtown Nanaimo. The Salvation Army Centre of Hope is located at 19 Nicol St. Formerly…
- Former gang member shares story with Nanaimo youth · 22 minYo Bro Yo Girl co-founder Joe Calendino is working to prevent young people from leading the life he used to live. A few decades back, Calendino was a full patch member of the…
- Vancouver Island radio play warns of elder financial abuse · 35 minA new audio drama airing on Radio Sidney tells a story of elder financial abuse. Beware Mysterious Mark is a 10 part series airing Thursdays through July. Producer Bill Collins…
- Exploring the history of a Saskatchewan mental hospital · 41 minWhen it opened in 1921, the Weyburn Mental Hospital was hailed as the last and largest asylum in the British Commonwealth. Managing Madness co-author Erika Dyck writes that in…
- “Street Dr. Jill” talks influencing on homelessness and healthcare · 48 minDr. Jill Wiwcharuk has been practicing medicine for 15 years, largely working with people living on the streets. Since December, she’s added a new dimension to her work, social…
- Nanaimo supportive housing site celebrates 10 years · 17 minA Nanaimo supportive housing site celebrated a decade of giving people a home in the community. On a sunny April day, staff and residents at Boundary came together for a 10th…
- Crafting a high school curriculum on homelessness · 46 minErin Dej, associate professor in the department of criminology at Wilfrid Laurier University, has been helping craft a curriculum to teach high school students about…
- Unpacking 10 years of a public health emergency · 57 minBernie Pauly of the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and the University of Victoria speaks about how the toxic drug crisis has unfolded over 10 years as a declared…
- VIU researcher looking at intersection between local government and overlapping crises · 31 minTrevor Wideman, a postdoctoral researcher at Vancouver Island University, is looking at municipal governance and health policy, and how it interacts with the toxic drug and…
- “Finding a passion…really can save your life” – autobiographical Boy Player hits the stage in Nanaimo · 27 minGabriola Island playwright Frank Moher is putting his own story on this stage. Boy Player chronicles the author’s experience of being orphaned and moving across a continent in…
- Nurse, UVic PhD student looking at chronic pain and sexuality · 24 minA University of Victoria PhD student is looking at the intersection between chronic pain and sexuality. “ I’m really looking at understanding people’s stories and experiences…
- Drug user group co-hosting its first author talk in Nanaimo · 33 minAnn Livingston has spent decades helping drug user groups organize. In the 1990s, she helped co-found the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, and is currently working with the…
- Mountain Muskox providing support for people who’ve experienced trauma in the backcountry · 21 minLexie Morgan is a registered clinical counsellor. She does work with the Sea to Sky chapter of a group called Mountain Muskox, which offers support to people who have experienced…
- “We’re all working hard, I’d like people to know” – Rethinking Drinking panelist shares story · 35 minWriter Jordan Kawchuk is preparing to speak as a lived experience speaker at a Nanaimo Foundation event called Rethinking Drinking. “My lived experience is that I’ve been to…
- Checking the levels on music industry mental health · 57 minIndependent musicians from around coastal B.C. speak about mental health in the industry, following on the heels of a report from music industry leadership consultancy Revelios…
- Victoria company aims to translate in patient treatment experience to online format · 30 minHome Based Recovery Executive Director Rob DeClark says he’s spent the last few decades working in the in patient treatment industry. “ The landscape changed considerably in…
- Hungry stories project looking to spark solutions on food insecurity · 57 minElaine Power says a few decades back, close to the start of her career, Canada started viewing food as the solution to food insecurity. Power is now approaching retirement from…
- A visit to the Ethics Bowl · 27 minThe Ethics Bowl is billed as “a space where discussion is used to untangle the nuanced topics.” Ethics Bowl events see teams present positions on complex topics like and face…
- Victoria filmmaker’s Mildlife aiming to avoid tropes in depicting disability · 28 minVictoria filmmaker Cory Thibert says he never saw a family like his depicted on screen, which was the starting point for his debut narrative feature film, Mildlife. “ Both of my…
- Nanaimo stage show explores emotional journey of an artist · 29 minClown Fish tells the story of Paul Tedeschini’s journey through life as an actor moving across Canada and navigating various emotional challenges. The show is being performed by…
- After lifetime in resource industries, island resident reflects on sustainability · 26 minNorth Cowichan resident Royce Warren has spent much of his life working in resource industries. “I’ve been a forester, I’ve been a miner, I’ve been a commercial fisherman. I’ve…
- Friends found group offering free pet care for those in addiction treatment · 31 minPriya Sharma and Kayleigh Busch met working in the field of mental health and substance use support in Victoria. The pair say they consistently noticed a need among the…
- A visit to 1030 Old Victoria Road · 56 minThe manager of a Nanaimo supportive housing site says that almost one year on from breaking ground, the community is coming together around 1030 Old Victoria Road. “Even those…
- Medical psychiatrist explores interaction between generative AI and psychosis · 36 minDr. Alexandre Hudon, a Medical psychiatrist, clinician-researcher and clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and addictology at the Université de Montréal…
- Reflections on a changing relationship with the gym · 38 minToronto based freelance journalist Zahra Khozema spoke with the program about her evolving relationship with the gym, and her decision to give up her membership, via what she…
- Play set in dementia care home seeks to make space to talk about memory loss · 20 minNanaimo playwright Joëlle Rabu is bringing dementia to the spotlight with a show that hits the stage at the Malaspina theater later this month. Set in a dementia care facility, I…
- Cowichan Valley exhibit brings local artists together to explore mental health · 42 minVancouver Island artist Philip Mix says that as a kid, all he wanted to do was drawn. Now 70 years old, Mix says at some point along the way, he figured it was more than likely a…
- Breaking down conditional approval of drug to treat Alzheimer’s · 30 minTo mark Alzheimer’s awareness month, Heather Cooke, Manager of Research and Knowledge Mobilization at the Alzheimer’s Soceity of B.C. spoke with the program about recent…
- Aging out of care focus of Senate Human Rights Committee report · 57 minMelanie Doucet, Executive Director of the National Council of Youth in Care Advocates, says there can be a hard cut off for people raised in the foster system when they reach…
- Western prof talks relationship anarchy · 18 minTreena Orchard says an approach to intimacy and human connection called relationship anarchy is becoming especially popular among millennials and Generation Z. The associate…
