Les héritages de la santé mentale communautaire

After the Asylum? Legacies of Community Mental Health

Three days of interactive, multi-media events and discussions about the ongoing legacy of deinstitutionalization. Linking the past to the present through presentations, art, photography and film to foster better mental health policy, practices and understanding.

Vancouver,BC

November 6-­‐8, 2014

The conference will be held at Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre, with evening events also

taking place at Gallery Gachet and the Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch Preliminary Program

DAY 1:THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6
CONFERENCE INTRODUCTION & WITNESS SESSION

Opening Words 11:00– Megan Davies & David Reville

Presenting After the Asylum (11:15 – 12:45)

What has After the Asylum produced? Marina Morrow (Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University) will host a series of short keynote presentations to introduce multi-media collaborative project products to conference participants:

o History of Madness in Canada website (Chris Dooley, University of Manitoba)
o Francophone Group (Marie-Claude Thifault, University of Ottawa)
o After the Asylum webpages (Tracey Mitchell, Community Facilitator, Saskatoon & Megan Davies,
York University)
o History in Practice (Diane Purvey, Kwantlen Polytechnic University)
o PARC as a Community Partner (Victor Willis, PARC)

Lunch 12:45-2:00

Policy Formation: Recounting the Creation of Community Mental Health (2:30-4:00)

What shape did community mental health take in its first years? Chris Dooley, (University of Manitoba) will moderate a witness session featuring two individuals who were active in early community mental health in Vancouver, followed reflections from a current practitioner.

o Marsha Ablowitz (founding social worker, Kitsilano Community Mental Health Center, Vancouver),
o Lanny Beckman (founder, Mental Patients Association, Vancouver) with Marina Morrow,
o Maureen Mckinlay (Interior Health, BC)

Asylum to Activism: Public Reception at Gallery Gachet (4:30–7:30)

Meet and mingle with other conference participants at Vancouver’s Gallery Gachet, an artist-run centre dedicated to fostering dialogue on mental health and social and economic marginalization. This event will include light refreshments, presentations of unique archival photographs discovered during the project, and readings from Mad Matters: A Critical Reader in Canadian Mad Studies, an anthology of writings on contemporary mental health issues by activists/survivors and scholars. Presenters: David Reville, Irit Shimrat, Rob Wipond.

DAY 2: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 7
HISTORY IN ACTION

History in Practice: Creating Community-Informed Mental Health Curriculum (11:00–1:00)

After the Asylum as educator – join us in launching an important new teaching site. History in Practice is an innovative set of web-based teaching resources based on two ideas: that education has the power to change minds, and that mental health practitioners need to understand the history of deinstitutionalization. Project academic partner Sarah de Leeuw (University of Northern BC) will chair a session presenting the methodology and content of this groundbreaking collaborative educational initiative.

o Dana Allen (project community expert)
o Lori Elling (project community expert)
o Ya’Ya Heit (Gitxsan First Nations)
o Christie Wall (senior project research assistant)

Lunch – 1:00-2:30

The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Stories from MPA (2:30-4:00)
Watch our popular project documentary about Canada’s first peer-led organization, Vancouver’s radical Mental Patients Association! This conference screen is hosted by the MPA Founders Association, and will be followed by question and answer with the creators.
Moderators: MPA Founders John Hatfull and Patty Gazzola and Simon Davis (Vancouver Coast Health)

Public Project Exhibits, Vancouver Central Public Library (6:00pm – 8:00)

Project artist Willie Willis worked all summer to create this exciting display of the multiple harvests of the After the Asylum & History in Practice projects. Watch project videos at the Legacies Theatre, go to school with History in Practice, tour exhibits from After the Asylum… and meet some of the folks behind it all!

*** BONUS DISPLAY! *** The Riverview Suitcase Project – Riverview Historical Society

DAY 3: SATURDAY NOVEMBER 8
HISTORIES OF RIGHTS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Community Programs: Stories of Ingenuity and Innovation (11:00 – 12:30)

What spaces of hope in the mental health world have we discovered through our project? Geertje Boschma (University of British Columbia) will lead a public discussion about alternative and innovative community projects and programs that emerged from joint professional and community

engagement and local activism. Using an informal talk-show format, the session will address  questions of mental health,patient rights, and professional power.
o Eugene Leblanc (Groupe de Support Emotionel Inc,Moncton & Our Voice/Notre Voix)
o Colleen Dewar (Pioneer Community Living Association, New Westminster)
o Victor Willis (PARC, Toronto)
o Nigel Bart (Artbeat, Winnipeg)

Lunch 12:30-2:00

Keynote: In the Blackberry Patch: Activist History & Madness (2:00-2:30)

Why is the history of mental health important, and how can we make it useful? Megan Davies (York

University) shares her reflections on five years with the After the Asylum project and a lifetime of blackberry picking.

Beyond After the Asylum? (3:00-4:30)
Project participants have been inspired by the positive aspects of bringing together like-minded groups and individuals from the community and the academy – let’s talk about what shape this might take. This final conference discussion and planning session will be moderated by Marina Morrow (Simon Fraser) and conference presenters TBA.

Additional program details
*Programing times and breaks have been guided by the needs & suggestions of community partners to ensure inclusiveness.
**There is no charge for attending this conference.
***Conference registration is required. Participants may attend specific days or events or the whole conference.

This event is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, CGSM, Living Archives on Eugenics in Western Canada, SFU, ActiveHistory.ca, Riverview Hospital Historical Society, Coast Mental Health Foundation, Gallery Gachet, West Coast Mental Health Network, Parkdale Activity & Recreation Centre and MPA Founders.