peer support

Join us online for Mental Health Week, May 3-7, and let’s Get Reel about how we feel for the first ever film fest at Stella’s Place!

We will be celebrating our community and bringing people together through the arts during this time of isolation. The films highlight filmmakers, young adults, families, and advocates in the Stella’s Place community and address mental health challenges and resilience. There will be several panels and workshops following the screenings each night, providing an opportunity for audience members to ask questions.

The Ontario Caregiver Organization (OCO) is proud to launch a new website to help young caregivers aged 15-25. The new website www.youngcaregiversconnect.ca was  designed in collaboration with, and for, young caregivers and offers information and resources that address their unique needs.

OPDI Call for Webinar Proposals

Do you have an idea for a webinar related to the field of Peer Support? Would you like to share your knowledge and experience on a particular topic?    Ontario Peer Development Initiative is proud to produce monthly webinars for our membership and the larger Peer Support Community, and we are currently inviting proposals for future webinars.    We welcome the creation of new webinars, as well as webinars developed from previous presentations and/or conference papers.

This 2-hour webinar will explore the topic of self-compassion and self-care along with tools to engage in healthy self-compassion and self-care practice. The webinar is a snippet of Managing Your Depression and Anxiety (MYDA) recovery program that can be used for managing daily challenges, especially during COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ontario Peer Development Initiative is looking for Peer Supporters who would be interested in sharing their personal and/or professional experiences with Peer Support as a part of OPDI's training program.

All participants will be compensated for their work.

The two distinct requests are detailed below.

Call for Written Stories

Deadline for Expressing Interest: 31 March 2021

Proposed Deadline for Completed Story: 31

Hope + Me - Mood Disorders Association of Ontario is seeking youth volunteers ages 15 to 25 to be part of the youth-oriented Peer Support Drop-in Group which will be held online every Saturday.

The role will require the volunteer to work on Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.  The start date is Saturday, April 3, 2021. Applications will be accepted to March 28, 2021 (inclusive).  

PLEASE SEE OPPORTUNITY ATTACHMENT

The Excellence through Quality Improvement Project (E-QIP) is hosting an amazing free virtual conference, QI Innovations: Understand-Pivot-Change, set for Tuesday, April 13.   I am going to attempt to do the keynote. LOL.

Keynote Presentation: Listen. REALLY Listen. (The Cornerstone of QI).

Our bi-weekly Saturday Peer Mental Health Support groups (Rising Together) seek to improve  or support the overall mental well-being of youth through empathetic, holistic and healing-centered conversation. Our groups adopt a person-centered approach to navigating through the circumstances and things that impact our mental health.

Hope+Me - Mood Disorders Association of Ontario (MDAO) is pleased to offer a new cohort of our virtual peer support training program. This four-module training program is unique in the field of mental health peer support. Based on the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s standards, and over thirty-five years of providing exceptional peer support to individuals and families struggling with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, our certified training program is unparalleled.

Creating a safe learning environment for support groups and educational workshops is an important job for peer specialists. In this presentation Ari Dennis introduces attendees to the concept of gender inclusion and how it applies to facilitation for peer specialists. Practical skills will be the core of the talk interwoven with personal narrative and statistics. The skills they will address are categorized broadly into personal inclusive practices, facilitation of groups with mixed gender or sexual orientation, and awareness and deconstruction of gender associations.

There is no one way of seeing and experiencing reality. Reality is experienced on a continuum. Those who experience the extreme end of the continuum are often misunderstood, feared and shunned in Western Culture. How it has been responded to has changed and transformed over time. It has been seen as a curse, illness, divine gift, demonic possession, etc. Currently it is seen from a medical model point of view- Psychosis. We will discuss how it has been understood throughout history and in various cultures.

Learn about the Centre for Innovation in Peer Support’s Peer Support Integrity, Quality and Impact (PSIQI) Survey!

Hi All:

The youth mental health crisis goes well beyond Blue Monday. Toronto’s young people seek out support 365 days a year, often running into barriers in accessing the help they need. And the isolating effects of the pandemic are only making things worse.

RBC Pathway to Peers is an innovative partnership between Stella's Place and Mount Sinai Hospital's Emergency Department created to provide mental health support for individuals 16 - 29 years old through lived experience.

This presentation and discussion will be facilitated by Barbara Frampton and will be an informative and supportive conversation that will identify:

• Pandemic Fatigue

• Pandemic Burnout

• Why it’s Serious

• Supporting Ourselves

• Supporting Others

• Helpful Strategies

How can we leverage online platforms to facilitate connection, community-building, and peer support among youth?

How can we reach, engage, and support youth who may be experiencing social isolation?

Join us for an engaging and timely conversation that explores how organizations are using new and existing online platforms to engage youth, build communities, and facilitate peer-to-peer support.

During this time of uncertainty, peer support is more important than ever to maintaining mental wellness.

Event address for attendees: https://camh.webex.com/camh/on...76fdad373463c3f54a07
Event number: 171 536 1009
Event password: Rounds

For more information, contact Danica Furtado-Fernandes | Addictions Education Coordinator | Acute Care Program Unit | danica.furtado-fernandes@camh.ca