Supporting Advocacy Efforts

Families can be effective advocates for improvements to the mental health system.

bcss british columbia schizophrenia society person patting another persons shoulder consoling

Understanding systems advocacy

People living with schizophrenia and other severe and persistent mental illnesses can face many barriers to receiving care in the mental health system.

Families often act as advocates for their loved ones to help them get the care they need. This is known as individual advocacy. But families can also advocate for broader changes to the mental health system that will improve the services provided to everyone. This is known as systems advocacy.

Systemic advocacy often means sharing your experiences with different levels of government, professional associations, non-profit organizations, and the media to suggest improvements in mental health, housing, justice, education, and other systems that will benefit people living with severe and persistent mental illnesses.

GETTING INVOLVED

Next steps

Systems advocacy often focuses on the government and media. Find out how you can advocate to members of the government and media for improvements to the mental health system.

Supporting advocacy initiatives

Any efforts to advocate for improvements to the mental health system are helpful. However, we know that we can accomplish more when we work together. BCSS leads a range of public policy initiatives that advocate for improvements to the mental health system on behalf of families. Learn more about these initiatives and how you can get involved.

  • Frequently asked questions

    • While individual advocacy is focused on advocating for the needs of a specific individual, systems advocacy is focused on advocating for improvements to the mental health system overall to provide better services, treatments, and support for everyone.

    • Systems advocacy can create more fundamental and long-lasting changes in the mental health system that will make it easier for everyone to get effective treatment rather than relying on families to fight for the care their loved one’s needs.

    • The main issues identified by BCSS include:

      • providing Early Psychosis Intervention Programs throughout the province
      • ensuring people have access to medications and other supporting treatments
      • providing adequate hospital care and protecting involuntary treatment
      • providing housing and other supports to enable people to live in the community
      • involving and supporting families in their role as caregivers
    • There are many ways to advocate for systemic change but two of the most common include:

      • writing letters to or meeting with your government representatives
      • sharing your story publically through various media channels

      If you would like to support advocacy efforts but would prefer not to do so alone, you can support advocacy efforts led by the BC Schizophrenia Society by:

      • signing up for the BC Schizophrenia Society newsletter to stay informed of advocacy efforts
      • listening to the Look Again: Mental Illness Re-Examined podcast to increase your knowledge of issues related to mental illness
      • sharing your story with the BC Schizophrenia Society and your suggestions for advocacy campaigns
      • supporting BC Schizophrenia Society’s advocacy campaigns by writing letters, speaking to the media, etc.
      • donating to the BC Schizophrenia Society to support advocacy campaigns and public policy work

We acknowledge that the various land on which BCSS operates and supports families is the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of British Columbia’s Indigenous Peoples. We are honoured and privileged to share this land, and are committed to reconciliation, decolonization, and building relationships in our communities.