News, policy and advocacy

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News, policy and advocacy


News & Advocacy

AlexAbramovich ---

Policy Briefs: The Impacts of COVID-19 on 2SLGBTQ+ Youth Experiencing Homelessness

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected marginalized groups, including 2SLGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness. According to the literature, this group has been experiencing higher rates of mental health and substance use issues since the pandemic started and also face greater risk of contracting COVID-19 and experiencing worse health outcomes. A research project, led by Dr.

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Jenny ---

"PTSD is a public health issue"

The Federal Legal Act on PTSD Sc. 2018 c.13 should be widely promoted. It stated: "PTSD is a public health issue" and "Many people are at increased risk for PTSD as a result of experiences outside of an occupational setting such as survivors of sexual or interpersonal violence, refugees, LGBTQ2 populations, Indigenous Peoples, people experiencing homelessness, as well as survivors of major accidents or disasters."

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Community ---

"Can racism cause schizophrenia?"

"Decades of research has found that racialized citizens are diagnosed with [schizophrenia] at far higher rates – and the single biggest risk factor is having darker skin than most of their neighbours." Read The Globe and Mail article here.

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Community ---

Statistics Canada shares portrait of Canada's LGBTQ2+ communities

To mark Pride, Statistics Canada recently posted an article with information about LGBTQ2+ Canadians. It shares a number of interesting pieces of information including:

as of 2018, LGBTQ2+ people made up 4% of Canada's population over 15, or 1 million peoplemore youth and young adults identify as LGBTQ2+.
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Angela ---

Dr. Nazilla Khanlou: Supporting the mental health of racialized women at risk of gender-based violence

As the Women’s Health Research Chair in Mental Health for the Faculty of Health at York University, Dr. Nazilla Khanlou says gender-based violence didn’t start with the pandemic, but the pandemic has made it worse.

“The ripple effects are going to continue for a long time to come.” she says.

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Community ---

OCS releases Social Responsibility Strategy

The Ontario Cannabis Store has released their first-ever three-year social responsibility strategy!

The strategy's key pillars are:

1.      Sustainability: Establishing a Foundation for Sustainability2.      Inclusion: Creating a Diverse & Inclusive Industry 3.      Knowledge: Advancing Cannabis Knowledge & Promoting Responsible Consumption

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Rossana ---

Poll indicates mental health impact of COVID-19 at all-time high

A new survey is highlighting alarming trends that indicate the pandemic’s strain on the mental health of Ontarians has reached all-time highs.

The latest poll in a series conducted by Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario, shows a troubling pattern of loneliness: More than half of Ontarians (57%) are lonelier since the start of the pandemic, almost half (47%) wish they had someone to talk to, and more than a third (36 per cent) say they are often, very often or almost always lonely.

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Emma Firsten-Kaufman ---

Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Today, on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, the government of Ontario introduced the Combatting Human Trafficking Act, new legislation and amendments to existing legislation that propose to better protect victims, support survivors and crack down on offenders.

Click here to read the press release.

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Rossana ---

CCSA to fund 19 cannabis research projects

It has been more than two years since Canada became the first G20 country to legalize recreational cannabis and cannabis products. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) is supporting research on non-therapeutic cannabis and the impacts of its legalization on public health and safety across the country. Through financial support from Health Canada, CCSA is funding 19 projects on subjects ranging from cannabis legalization and mental health to a comparison of legal versus illicit cannabis sales.

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Jenny ---

Stigma and discrimination, an area we must put more effort in

CBC GoPublic broadcasted on 2021/01/17 a story about a bipolar man's experience in a Toronto hospital. I link it to here because I believe stigma and discrimination is a huge area that mental health community must put more effort in. Stigma is rooted in discrimination. Only our society truly eliminate discrimination against mental disability, the stigma will not effectively go away.

The link to CBC's story:

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