Welcome to this issue of professional resources, produced by the BC Schizophrenia Society, in partnership with the BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information.

We hope this newsletter provides you with helpful information to assist you in collaborating with family members and supporters in the care of their loved one with a mental illness. A companion enewsletter is also available for family members.

In this newsletter:

• Ongoing Family Resources - where and how to refer relatives and supporters for support and help.
• Featured Resources
  • 1. New Factsheets Available in Traditional and Simplified Chinese
  • 2. Innovative Chinese Mental Health Website
  • 3. Multicultural Mental Health Resource Centre
• Family support and education events, listed by location (also see map) – link opens on a web page
• Family support and education events in BC (see right)

Ongoing Family Resources & Referral Information

Reaching Families Project (BC Schizophrenia Society/ HeretoHelp)
Families to Refer: Relatives or supporters looking for support groups or education events for themselves in their area of BC. No limitations by diagnosis. Relatives, parents, siblings, adult children, family of choice, lesbian /gay / LGTB.

• Multi-agency support group listing:http://www.meetings.bcss.org
• Family events calendar http://www.familyevents.bcss.org
• Online support groups for family members – (facilitated) including groups for adult children, lesbian/gay family of choice and siblings
• Population-specific resource e-newsletters - feature and promote resources for family members to various audiences.

**If your agency provides support or information events or groups to relatives/supporters of persons with a mental illness in BC, please send in your information for posting on this calendar to onlinesupport@bcss.org

Kelty Resource Centre
Families to Refer: Families needing help finding and accessing mental health info and services for children/youth with a mental health concern, youth with a mental health concern, adults/youth with eating disorder. Run by BC Mental Health and Addictions Services – office in BC Children and Women’s Hospital, service area BC-wide through phone and email.

BC Schizophrenia Society
Families to Refer: Families of persons with a serious and persistent mental illness (including but not limited to schizophrenia, psychosis, schizoaffective disorders) All family members welcome at support groups, family education groups (regardless of family member diagnosis). Kids in Control program provides service to children 8-13 of parents with any kind of mental illness, as does Family Respite program. Online support groups for family members is also not diagnosis-limited and are facilitated including groups for adult children, lesbian/gay family of choice and siblings. Referral details at the above links. Service areas: BC wide except respite and kids programs.

The FORCE For Kids Mental Health
Families to refer: Parents of children with a mental illness looking for support and information. Service area: specific regions, see website.

Here To Help Website
BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions information offers a wide variety of general audience information on mental health, addictions and mental wellness. All information is evidence based. Funded by provincial health authority.

If this e-resource has been forwarded to you by a friend, you can sign up for your own copy here

Featured Resources

1) New Factsheets Available in Traditional and Simplified Chinese

Thanks to the Provincial Language Service, of the Provincial Health Services Authority, 9 new fact sheets are now available in both traditional and simplified Chinese! These fact sheets cover topics on child and youth mental health, such as Healthy Thinking for Younger Children and Mental Disorders in Children and Youth. See the Other Languages section of the HereToHelp website to find fact sheets about mental health and addiction in nearly a dozen languages.

2) Innovative Chinese Mental Health Website

The New Zealand Mental Health Foundation’s Kai Xin Xing Dong project has produced a groundbreaking bilingual website, in Chinese and English. This culturally sensitive website, believed to be the first of its kind in a Western country, provides mental health information and resources for the general public as well as resources designed to support mental health professionals, including general practitioners. The site uses culturally appropriate approaches to counter stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness in Chinese communities. communities. The site is available at www.mentalhealth.org.nz/kaixinxingdong.

3) Multicultural Mental Health Resource Centre

The Mental Health Commission of Canada has launched a Multicultural Mental Health Resource Centre in response to a need for improved quality and better access to mental health services for people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Available resources include multilingual and culturally adapted information on mental health and illness, as well as tools for mental health workers and professionals on topics such as working with interpreters and developing organizational cultural competence. Visit the resource, hosted by McGill University at www.mcgill.ca/mmhrc.