Reimagine Mental Health Podcast
By Emmy Chahal and Kyle Fawkes
Email us at: bcmentalhealth.advocates@gmail.com
Reimagine Mental Health PodcastSep 18, 2023
Ep. 5: Interview with N’alag̱a / Kaaw Kuuna (Avis O’Brien) on Suicide Prevention and Mental Health in Indigenous Communities
Our fifth episode with N'alaga / Kaaw Kuuna (Avis O'Brien) was far reaching, deeply heartfelt and eye-opening.
N'alag̱a / Ḵ'áw kuuna (Avis O’Brien), a Haida/Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw artist and Land Based Cultural Empowerment Facilitator, was born in Alert Bay, British Columbia. She belongs to the Kawaas Sdaast.aas Eagle Clan from the Village of K’yuusda in Haida Gwaii and the Gigəlǧəm n̓əm̓ina sa Liǧʷiłdax̌ʷ people of Cape Mudge, one of the 18 Tribes of the Kwakwaka’wakw. Avis offers Community Land Based Healing Workshops that are rooted in Decolonization, Reconciliation, Indigenous Land Based Healing & Breath & Embodiment Practices. Her work aims to highlight the intersectionality of colonial genocide, impacts of trauma, residential schools and how we can utilize Ancestral forms of healing to regain a sense of balance and harmony in body, mind and spirit.
Her work in Indigenous youth suicide prevention focuses on resisting the spirt of suicide within ourselves by utilizing land based culturally rooted healing practices. Drumming, singing, dancing, medicine harvesting, ceremony, weaving, breath & embodiment practices are utilized as self regulation tools, guiding folks down the path of neuro decolonization.
Her work within Non Indigenous communities has a focus on building allyship and dismantling racist stereotypes against Indigenous folks. For more info about Avis's amazing work: https://www.nalagaconsulting.com/
https://www.copperlegacy.org/youarestrong
Ep. 4: Interview with Ella Hale: Youth vs. Adult Mental Health Care in BC, Powerful Advocacy, and Coexistence
Our interview with Ella Hale, who is wise beyond her years is refreshing, candid, and so inspiring. Ella eloquently discusses her experience moving from youth mental health care to adult mental health care and her subsequent journey of media attention and widespread advocacy with the BC government and medical system. She has made incredible waves in her early adulthood and we are honoured to highlight her voice. Ella Hale is a person with lived/living experience of mental illness, but she is also a university student who is planning to go into the mental health field. Ella co-founded an advocacy Facebook page where she provided a space for individuals who had been to the psychiatric emergency services within Island Health to share their experiences. Through that page she has continued to advocate but more importantly has felt a sense of community and connection that she was missing for so much of her life.
To access the facebook page that Ella cofounded with Emma Epp (which now has over 2700 members, much more than the 1800 we mentioned during the podcast): https://www.facebook.com/groups/251503620020089
To reach out to us and be a guest on the podcast please email us at: bcmentalhealth.advocates@gmail.com
Please share, review, and contemplate this episode, we hope it sparks some positive change!
Ep 3: Interview with Rob Wipond: "Your Consent is Not Required" Forced Psychiatric Interventions in BC and Beyond
This interview with Rob covers a broad spectrum of the current state of affairs with our mental health care system in BC and beyond. We discuss a wide variety of topics related to the issues around policy, diagnosis, cultural visions of mental health, privilege, consent, the carceral system, and some ideas of how to move forward. Rob has over 20 years of experience as a independent, investigative journalist covering a wide array of topics including, but not limited to: surveillance and privacy, police accountability, and civil rights and psychiatry.
Rob Wipond is a freelance journalist and creative nonfiction writer who writes frequently about the interfaces between psychiatry, civil rights, community issues, policing, surveillance and privacy, and social change. His articles have been nominated for seventeen magazine and journalism awards in science, law, business, and community issues, and he’s the author of the book Your Consent is Not Required: The Rise in Psychiatric Detentions, Forced Treatment, and Abusive Guardianships.
To learn more about Rob you can visit his website: https://robwipond.com/
To purchase Rob's book: https://benbellabooks.com/shop/your-consent-is-not-required/
Ep 2: Kyle's Story of Mental Health Advocacy
Welcome to the Reimagine Mental Health Podcast- a space to discuss revolutionary ideas on improving mental health. The first two episodes are an opportunity to get to know us (your hosts) a little better. In this episode, Emmy interviews Kyle to learn about his journey into becoming an outspoken and impactful mental health advocate in BC. Kyle discusses the powerful legacy of his father, Glen Fawkes, and his family's journey of healing.
To read one of the articles featuring Kyle and his family: https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2022/09/23/For-My-Father-Who-Should-Have-Lived/
Please contact us at bcmentalhealth.advocates@gmail.com to be a guest on the show or to share your feedback and experiences.
Ep 1: Emmy's Story of Healing
Welcome to the Reimagine Mental Health Podcast- a space to discuss revolutionary ideas on improving mental health. The first two episodes are an opportunity to get to know us (your hosts) a little better. For the first episode, Kyle interviews Emmy about her journey through the mental health system and what ultimately led to her healing.
To learn more about Emmy and the work she does in the world, visit her website at: https://emmychahal.com or follow her journey on instagram @emmychahal
To be a guest on our show or to share resources, experiences, or stories - please contact us at bcmentalhealth.advocates@gmail.com