February 27, 2021 Speakers Series Report
- 25/03/2021
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Topic: Mental Health – From Prevention to Wellness
The three speakers on February 27th gave a very powerful, moving and informative presentation. If you missed it, the session was recorded. Please contact Ingrid Sproxton to obtain the recording link and password.
February 27th Plenary Meeting Mental Health – From Prevention to Wellness
Our February 27th Speakers Series featured three compelling speakers: Jennifer Pereira-Ashawasegai, an Anishinabek citizen from Henvey Inlet First Nation in Ontario, Kendra Fisher, a women’s ice hockey goaltender, and Lori Spadorcia, Chief Strategy Officer at CAMH. The topic was mental health, moving from prevention to wellness.
Jennifer is an Indigenous Community Liaison for a corporation and received a diagnosis of bi-polar disorder more than 20 years ago. Since that time she has shared her story and promoted the benefits of integrating traditional health practices with western methods of mental health treatment for maximum benefit.
Kendra grew up in Kincardine, Ontario. In 1999, when faced with the opportunity to realize her dream of goal-tending for the Canadian national women’s ice hockey team, she was diagnosed with severe mental illness, forcing her to leave the National Program in order to seek help. Kendra now shares her personal journey in efforts to bring Mental Health issues to the forefront.
Lori is a passionate advocate and is changing the conversation about mental health, improving awareness and understanding of mental illness and working with governments and communities to improve health systems and policy. She supports the alignment of mission critical activities designed to be responsive to CAMH’s many stakeholders and is engaging partners and resources to better position the hospital to make a sustainable system contribution to mental health.
The presentations were followed by a Q&A session when the speakers addressed questions from the audience.
As well, the Standing Committee Chairs have written reports about the Speakers Series presentations, focusing on their Committee’s unique perspective. Click on the links below to view.