Strengthening Families Together - 10 session group for family and friends - Do you have a relative or friend with a serious mental illness? Strengthening Families Together is a 10-session group for families and friends, which provides information, skill-building, and support. Offered throughout BC in spring and fall. Contact your local branch for details.... More →
Schizophrenia / Psychosis Early Warning Signs - This list of warning signs was developed by people whose relatives have schizophrenia or other serious mental illness. Many behaviours are within the range of normal responses to situations. Yet family members sense—even when symptoms are mild—that behaviour is “unusual”; that the person is “not the same”.... More →
Family Toolkit - The Family Toolkit is designed to assist families in caring for a family member with a mental illness by providing information and practical resources.... More →
Ulysses Agreement – planning for support - A Ulysses Agreement is a voluntary plan that allows a parent to plan how their children will be cared for should they relapse and be temporally unable to care for their children. Help to create these plans is available in Boston Bar, Hope, Agassiz, Mission, Abbotsford, Langley, White Rock & Surrey from Mark Littlefield at (604) 832-0705. Outside the Fraser region, please call Mark for more information or click on the link for written information and templates.... More →
BCSS Board of Directors - BCSS has a Board of Directors whose role is to act honestly and in good faith in the best interests of the society. Board members create broad policy to governing the mandates of the Society and raise funds on behalf of BCSS.... More →
B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Education and Support Program - BRIDGES is a course taught by consumers for consumers. BRIDGES helps people learn things that will help them in their journey to recovery. People who have taken the course find it helps them to be part of their own treatment. In the course, students learn about psychiatric diagnoses. They also learn about what mental health treatments work best. More information: www.bcss.org/bridges... More →
Kids in Control Support Group Program - The Kids in Control Support Group Program, created by the BC Schizophrenia Society, gives information, education and support to children eight to thirteen years of age who have a parent with a serious mental illness. The Teens in Control program is now available for Teens. For more information visit: www.bcss.org/kidsincontrol... More →
Provincial Office Staff - The BCSS has staff contacts in every health region in BC, who help families and support programs on behalf of the provincial society. Please click on the link above for staff email and contact information.... More →
BCSS Northwest – Terrace, Prince Rupert, Bulkley Valley, Haida Gwaii
Our Haida Gwaii office is going to be closed temporarily, effective immediately. Dolly Hall in Terrace will be the contact person for families on Island in the interim.
Here is her contact info:
Dolly Hall, MA - NW Regional Manager - BC Schizophrenia Society
210-4546 Park Ave., Terrace, BC V8G 1V4
Phone: 250-635-8272 Fax: 250-635-8206 nwmanager@bcss.org
The BCSS Coordinator for Terrace, Prince Rupert, Kitimat and the surrounding smaller communities is Noreen Spence Phone/Fax 250.635.8206 Toll free 1.866.326.7877 Email terrace@bcss.org. Please click on the link above for more information.
Contact Toby Coupe: Phone/Fax 250.847.9779 Toll free 1.888.847.9779 Email bulkley@bcss.org. Please click on the link above for office address and more information.
To Donate: Click here to donate online, send a cheque payable to the BC Schizophrenia Society to 201 - 6011 Westminster Hwy, Richmond , BC V7C 4V4 or click here or the link above for more options.
Do you have a family member with a mental illness? Are you wondering what services are available for serious mental illness in your community and how to access them? Need help figuring out what to do? BCSS can help. We have staff and volunteers in locations near you who can talk to you about your options and help you get connected. For contact info, please visit the link above for a list of locations or contact BCSS at 1-888-888-0029 to be referred to the person nearest you.
In the 2009-10 fiscal year alone, BCSS provincial coordinators responded to 5,684 calls and over 35,000 emails for support and information, attended 1,700 meetings, organized 390 support group sessions, and presented to over 34,000 members of the public
The Family Toolkit is designed to assist families in caring for a family member with a mental illness by providing information and practical resources.
2nd Wednesday of the month, 2:00 - 4:00 pm @ Mental Health and Addictions Conference Room, (Old) Court House Building, Main Street . Info: bulkley@bcss.org 250.847.9779 (phone/fax)
For over 25 years volunteers have assisted us in providing support to families, educating communities about mental illness, raising funds and advocating for improved services for people with mental illness. We are looking for volunteers to help deliver education programs, increase awareness and raise funds.
This resource may be useful to people who would like to understand the rules and procedures in place in BC around mental illness, police involvement, involuntary treatment, etc
Partnership Education is based on a personal storytelling model. It is a unique and powerful presentation that helps people in the community to understand the nature and prevalence of chronic and severe mental illness. A Partnership presentation is a panel of three guest speakers - a person with a psychiatric diagnosis, a family member, and a mental health professional. The three guests are presented as a team and each describes their own personal experience with mental illness. For information about volunteering for or arranging for a partnership presentation in your area, please contact the BCSS staff person or volunteer near you.
Sign up here for our e-newsletters for family members, mental health professionals, educators and aboriginal community members to keep posted on BCSS events, resources and advocacy or click on the above link for more information.
Do you have a relative or friend with a serious mental illness? Strengthening Families Together is a 10-session group for families and friends, which provides information, skill-building, and support. Offered throughout BC in spring and fall. Contact your local branch for details.
Visit 