Although a local children’s advocate has brought a Vancouver-based health resource to Powell River, she is not sure how long she can continue doing so.
Since last year CC Duncan, behaviour management consultant at 4children.ca, has been arranging youth mental health talks known as the Pinwheel Education Series to be video-conferenced at Powell River General Hospital.
The monthly series offers free advice to parents, school and health professionals and is run by the Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre, located at Vancouver’s BC Children’s Hospital.
“I think this is a great resource,” said Duncan, “but I need to know if people want me to continue to do this.”
Pinwheel talks cover topics such as eating disorders and bullying with the aim of providing opportunities for the public to learn about mental health and healthy living from experts, as well as persons sharing from their own lived experience.
“Lived experience is going through mental health issues and then becoming well,” said Duncan. “I have heard from two 12-year-olds, for instance, who talked about their own experiences with bullying.”
While the series is operated in Vancouver, it is accessible at the hospital via Telehealth video-conferencing from the Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia.
“Because of the stigma associated with mental health issues, people often don’t want to be seen going to get support,” said Duncan. “A resource like this can be helpful in a small community like Powell River because it is accessible from a neutral location.”
Other community groups participating in the series remotely include Cranbrook-Kootenay Child Development Centre and Queen Alexandra Centre for Children in Victoria.
The next talk in the Pinwheel series explores the physical manifestations of emotion in the human body, with contributions from those with direct experience, as well as BC Children’s psychologist Theresa Newlove and BC Children’s psychiatrist Andrea Chapman.
The talk, entitled The Mind-Body Connection: Physical Symptoms, Stress and Emotion, will be streamed live from 11:45 am to 1:45 pm on Thursday, December 17, in conference room one at the hospital. Those unable to attend can listen in by calling 1.877.291.3022 and entering the access code 4611577.
For more information about the series, go to keltymentalhealth.ca.
