A weekly radio program about people, the society in which we live, and issues related to health and wellness. Broadcast live on Thursdays at noon, and rebroadcast Mondays at noon, on CHLY 101.7 FM. Also streaming online at chly.ca.
Listen to a promo clip.
People First Radio is an initiative of Columbian Centre Society in partnership with Radio Malaspina Society. The opinions expressed on-air are not necessarily those of these organizations. The contents of website links provided below are for information only and should not be considered as recommendations or endorsements.
LISTEN AGAIN
If you'd like to listen to one of our segments, click on 'LISTEN'. If you'd like to download and save a copy of one of our segments, right-click on 'LISTEN' and select "save target as" or "save file as".
Strengthening families together: Local weekly course aims to help families deal with mental illness
March 11, 2010
A ten session educational program for family and friends of people with serious and persistent mental illnesses begins April 7th in Nanaimo. The course deals with five major mental health disorders: schizophrenia, clinical depression, bipolar, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorders. The series provides support, awareness, and tools for problem-solving, advocating and coping.
We spoke with Charlene Riches of the B.C. Schizophrenia Society, and with facilitators Noreen and Rod Morrison. For information call (250) 753-9923.
LISTEN (15:06)
Mental illness and the family experience: Susan Inman's memoir about her daughter's illness
March 11, 2010
No parent ever wants to see their child develop a chronic medical disability. But, when it is one that is so misunderstood by society as is schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses, it is even more traumatic. Now, a new book called "After Her Brain Broke: Helping My Daughter Recover Her Sanity" documents the experiences of a young woman and her family in the difficult journey to recovery.
We spoke with Vancouver author Susan Inman about her memoir. Susan will launch her book in Victoria on Saturday May 8th. Contact the Victoria branch of the B.C. Schizophrenia Society at (250) 384-4225.
LISTEN (14:14)
People's Corner: Paul Beard wonders why the Nanaimo-Ladysmith school system isn't doing more about bullying
March 11, 2010
Paul Beard considers himself to be a survivor of bullying. Now, 30 years later, the former Woodlands Secondary student wonders what's changed--and asks, "Why is this still happening?" He approached CHLY and asked to speak publicly.
We spoke with Paul Beard, in a "People's Corner" segment, about his recent letter to the editor of the Nanaimo Daily News, and his thoughts and feelings about the issue of bullying.
LISTEN (11:22)
One family's struggle: Nanaimo's Samantha Dubinsky finally admitted to hospital amid scarcity of appropriate care
March 4, 2010
Bryan Dubinsky went public last month with the struggle he and his daughter Samantha were facing trying to find help from a provincial health system they described as failing their needs. Bryan told reporters that, "the fact is, she's dying as a result of her not getting treatment." Since that first report, Samantha has been admitted to Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital, which is the only medical facility in the province that provides comprehensive treatment to people with eating disorders who are over 17 years of age. Provincial health minister Kevin Falcon, according the the Vancouver Sun, has now stated that the Liberal government is working on a provincial plan for better treatment of eating disorders.
We spoke with Bryan Dubinsky and with Cindy Dobbe of The Looking Glass Foundation.
LISTEN (20:09)
Feb. 15, 2010: Anorexic Nanaimo woman dying needlessly, dad says
Feb. 16, 2010: Anorexic teen admitted to hospital
Feb. 23, 2010: Inn slated to become treatment centre for eating disorders
Eating disorders on stage: Students Fiona Sauder and Megan Carty create and perform a play about healthy eating, body image
March 4, 2010
Two students from Ottawa's Canterbury High School have created a play based on overcoming unhealthy body image. The production, called "Enough: A Whimsical and Political Statement About Beauty and Self-Image," was recently presented on the Fourth Stage of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Fiona Sauder and Megan Carty won a $1,500 Ontario provincial grant awarded for student-led projects and then brainstormed ideas with therapist Heidi Mack. Megan Carty was herself previously treated for an eating disorder at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
We spoke with Megan Carty about the play, her personal experiences, and the importance of the play's message.
LISTEN (9:10)
Feb. 22, 2010: Acting out against anorexia
Image: Fiona Sauder (L) and Megan Carty (R) backstage at the performance of their play.
Hearing distressing voices: Workshop for students and frontline workers
March 4, 2010
Pat Deegan, a clinical psychologist and a psychiatric survivor, developed a workshop called "Hearing voices that are distressing" that provides an effective and direct experience for students, frontline workers, and others who are interacting with people who are 'hearing voices' due to psychiatric illness. The workshop is offered in Nanaimo by Columbian Centre Society.
We spoke with Dr. Pat Deegan and with Columbian Centre Society executive director Tom Grauman, in an interview first broadcast April 16, 2009.
LISTEN (15:24)
Image: Pat Deegan, from a YouTube video by cassandrafilm
National radio conversation: Discussion from Nanaimo's participation in the annual homelessness radio marathon
February 25, 2010
Canada's 8th annual Homelessness Radio Marathon was broadcast live from Nanaimo and cities across Canada on Tuesday, February 23, starting at 2 p.m. (Pacific) and continuing late into the night. Forty participating community radio stations served up "people-powered" and "consciousness-raising" radio. The Marathon provided an opportunity for homeless people and their allies to take to the airwaves, hosting a nationwide discussion about homelessness and poverty issues and possible solutions. During our People First Radio broadcast on Thursday, February 25, we shared some of the discussion from Nanaimo's participation in the marathon.
LISTEN (23:27) Women and homelessness: Pam, Lesley, Darla, and Doobie
LISTEN (4:19) Kim Goldberg reads her poem, "Urban Planning"
LISTEN (20:37) Mental health on the streets: Wallace, Myles, Jan and Dwayne
Image: The painting used in this year's Nanaimo Homelessness Marathon poster was created by homeless people in Nanaimo and people who were formerly homeless.
Jan's farewell
February 25, 2010
Jan Coleman has retired from co-hosting People First Radio after more than two years and dozens of interviews with people from all walks of life. During her final appearance on PFR as co-host, she reflected on her experiences on the radio program. We also shared a clip from our first broadcast, on November 22, 2007.
LISTEN (5:27)
Image: Nanaimo poet Kim Goldberg (left) "poems" Jan (right) during the 2009 "Random Acts of Poetry" week.
Youth and depression: Grassroots awareness-raiser set for February 27
February 18, 2010
Depression as an illness is a serious condition that brings about substantial changes in mood, behaviour, and thinking. It affects approximately 8% of adolescents. Many people who are depressed wait too long to seek treatment or do not seek treatment at all. A local awareness-raising event, called "Life CAN suck, SO what can I do?", hopes to champion increased funding for youth depression-related programs and to offer hope to young people who are struggling. We spoke with organizers Mona-Lisa Carstensen and Leisha Dallas, and with a mom, Cindy, and her daughter, Krista, who have experienced the effects of youth depression first hand.
LISTEN (16:43)
Men's gathering: Mankind Project brings its warrior training back to the Island
February 18, 2010
The Mankind Project, through its New Warrior Training weekends, asks men to "stop living vicariously through movies, television, addictions, and distractions and step up into their own adventure--in real time and surrounded by other men." The weekend training returns to Vancouver Island this spring. We spoke with Grant Waldman, Phil Gardner, and Bjorn Ratjen, who have experienced the weekend and are involved in community-based men's work and men's organizations.
LISTEN (16:05)
On bullying: The bully, the bullied, and the role of the community
February 11, 2010
Two recent deaths, by suicide, of bullied teens has again raised the issue of bullying in school settings. Ashkan Sultani, 15, of Lantzville, B.C. died January 12th. His parents have revealed he had moved from one school to another but had not been able to escape bullying. In South Hadley, Massachusetts, 15-year-old Phoebe Prince died January 14th of an apparent suicide. She had been relentlessly bullied at school. We spoke with Dr. Sibylle Artz, a professor in child and youth care at University of Victoria, and with Jim Jordan, a motivational speaker and anti-bullying educator.
LISTEN Jim Jordan (14:01) LISTEN Dr. Sibylle Artz (14:20)
A father's story: The Reena Virk tragedy has become teaching for all of us
February 11, 2010
In the years since their daughter, Reena Virk, was murdered in Victoria, B.C. Suman and Manjit Virk have made their work against bullying a top priority. In November 2009 British Columbia's Solicitor General Kash Heed presented the Virks with the Anthony J. Hulme Award of Distinction, B.C.'s highest honour for community safety and crime prevention. Suman and Manjit Virk were recently in Nanaimo to speak at a public forum at Vancouver Island University. We spoke with Manjit Virk about his book, Reena: A Father's Story, and his experiences in an interview first broadcast on PFR November 5, 2009.
LISTEN (16:25)
Are we doing enough?: Tragedy, inquest put spotlight on response to domestic violence in B.C.
February 4, 2010
The British Columbia government announced on January 18th that it was taking immediate action to protect victims of domestic violence and ensure offender accountability. The new plans came following an inquest into the murder-suicide deaths of a Vancouver Island family. But critics of the government's plan say that not enough resources are available to implement changes. We spoke with Leonard Krog, New Democratic Party MLA for the Nanaimo constituency, Anne Spilker, executive director at Haven Society, Lesley Clarke, executive director at Nanaimo Women's Resources Society, and Jennifer Bricker, an immigrant settlement worker at Nanaimo's Immigrant Welcome Centre. The B.C. Ministry of Public Safety was unable to participate.
LISTEN (13:03) Leonard Krog, Anne Spilker
LISTEN (14:31) Lesley Clarke, Jennifer Bricker
Runners Keep It Riel: Metis Nation's Olympic Focus unfolds during the "Year of the Metis"
February 4, 2010
Metis Nation British Columbia's 2010 Olympic torch relay team, "Keeping It Riel", recently ran with the Olympic torch. The team's slogan, a tribute to Louis Riel, was selected during a meeting last summer with Metis youth. Organizer Marcel Chalmers told the Vancouver Sun that he would be filled with pride, particularly after the Saskatchewan government declared 2010 as the Year of Metis. "It is going to be an incredible year for all Metis," he said. We speak with Bruce Dumont, president of Metis Nation British Columbia and with James Froh, an assistant deputy minister with Saskatchewan's ministry for First Nations and Metis relations.
LISTEN (13:50)
On quality of life: Turning to the experts who live successfully with bipolar disorder
January 28, 2010
Very little is known about how people successfully self-manage their bipolar disorder (BD). Information about people living successfully with BD isn't nearly as easy to find, for example, as information about disability or dysfunction. Now, a team of researchers is looking at self-management techniques provided by the experts themselves--people with BD who are living well. The hope is to turn their strategies into a kind of how-to guide that others can use to improve their lives. We spoke with Erin Michalak, an assistant professor in psychiatry with the University of British Columbia's faculty of medicine.
LISTEN (13:07)
View a PDF copy of the research article here.
Housing campaigns: Red tents and hunger strike call for national strategy
January 28, 2010
Vancouver-based Pivot Legal Society, the Citywide Housing Coalition, and other partners announced the launch of an Olympic red tent campaign on Monday January 25th, calling on the federal government to fund a national housing strategy to end homelessness. The partners call for government to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for all persons living in Canada. We spoke with John Richardson, executive director of Pivot Legal Society, and with Am Johal, a housing activist and organizer of a year-long hunger strike drawing attention to Canada's lack of a national housing strategy.
LISTEN (13:32)
Red Zone poet: Kim Goldberg's latest book raises awareness
January 28, 2010
Nanaimo poet Kim Goldberg and her book "Red Zone" have been appearing in a variety of settings recently. The book is a collection of poems, images, and artist projects, and was inspired by Goldberg's experiences living within Nanaimo's "red zone." The red zone is an area designated as no-go for certain individuals, particularly some whose alcohol, drugs, or disturbances convictions are perceived to contribute to general problems in the downtown area. Kim Goldberg spoke with us just ahead of a dance adaptation of her work at Nanaimo Centre Stage.
LISTEN (4:48)
October 1, 2009: Kim Goldberg visited us during Random Acts of Poetry week to read from "Red Zone" and talk about her book. LISTEN (12:16)
July 16, 2009: We spoke with Kim Goldberg about the return of her writer's voice--in poetry--and the development of "Red Zone." LISTEN (14:22)
True nature of addiction: It's a chronic, treatable disease, but stigma remains
January 28, 2010
During the spring of 2009 the British Columbia Medical Association released a policy paper calling for a full continuum of care for addictions in the province. The paper also recommended that addiction be officially recognized by the provincial government as a chronic and treatable disease. We spoke with Dr. Shao-Hua Lu, the paper's lead author and chair of BCMA's Council on Health Promotion, in an interview first broadcast on April 2, 2009 and rebroadcast on January 28, 2010.
LISTEN (15:39)
BCMA Facebook page: Is addiction a disease or a human failure?
Please note that Listen Again files are updated each week and generally offer opportunities to access live interviews from the previous several months.
If you'd like to keep a file for your own use, please download it.
WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTER
Each week (usually on Wednesday morning) we send out an email newsletter with news and information for our listeners and other interested individuals and organizations. The e-newlsetter includes a rich blend of information and news links to stories related to mental health, addiction, and homelessness issues. It also describes what we’re planning for each week’s live broadcast.
If you enjoy using the web for information and would like to receive our weekly People First e-newsletter, contact us at
LIVE BROADCAST
People First Radio is a weekly live radio program broadcast on FM radio in
Listen Thursday at noon (Pacific Time) for our live one hour program focusing on people, the society in which we live, and issues related to health and wellness, including mental illness, addiction, and homelessness. The program is rebroadcast on Mondays at noon. It will be podcast soon.
ABOUT
In November of 2007 Columbian Centre Society of Nanaimo, B.C. launched a new public education initiative designed to educate the public and raise awareness of the issues associated with mental illness, addiction, and homelessness. People First Radio went on the air November 22nd with its first weekly broadcast on
The program has since provided weekly one-hour live broadcasts including in-studio and telephone guests and re-broadcasts of interviews and news clips from nonprofit, community, and public broadcasting around the world. Over time, a weekly email enewsletter has been included, announcing the Thursday live broadcast content and also providing an extensive list of newspaper and online news headline hyperlinks and local event information. The People First Radio broadcast, in a general sense, can be described as "a program about people, the society in which we live, and issues related to health and wellness."
“We wanted to offer public education in a unique way to the community...and radio has provided a doorway for us into both broadcast and webcast worlds,” said Tom Grauman, Columbian Centre executive director. Jan Coleman, a former CCS staff member and board member, co-hosts the program and promotes it by word of mouth in the community. “I have been approached again and again by individuals in the community who have heard the program and have not only praise for what is being accomplished in the broadcast, but also feedback for what is most interesting, most appreciated, and most striking.”
In November 2009, after two years of continuous weekly broadcasts, People First Radio was given an award for "Innovative Community Capacity Building" by the British Columbia Healthy Living Alliance. People First Radio was one of twelve non-profit projects across Vancouver Island that were selected based on their ability to inspire communities to take action to identify and meet their own unique needs.
People First Radio was inspired by a handful of similar community radio initiatives around the world, including Radio La Colifata (“Crazy Radio” in
AWARENESS, EDUCATION, MENTAL ILLNESS, MENTAL HEALTH, HOMELESSNESS, HOMELESS, ADDICTION, RECOVERY, PERSONAL STORY, SOCIAL POLICY, SOCIAL JUSTICE, SOCIAL ISSUE, GOVERNMENT, COMMUNITY, LOCAL, PROVINCIAL, NATIONAL, STIGMA, DISCRIMINATION, MAD PRIDE, ADVOCACY, ADVOCATE, ACTIVISM, ACTIVIST, RADIO, INTERVIEW, DIALOGUE, DISCUSSION, STORY, CONVERSATION, MP3, AUDIO CLIP, DOWNLOAD, LISTEN.