Breakdown: Canada's Mental Health Crisis with André Picard
Charity Fundraising Dinner: November 10, 2008
 
An award-winning author and public health writer for The Globe and Mail, André Picard was the speaker at our fundraiser dinner for FameKids. Andre shared the story behind the week-long feature series in June 2008, as well as its impact on the public and our politicians.

Of Mice and Men Wine and Cheese Reception
August 21, 2008

Our fundraiser reception this summer for the Dr. John Roder Research Laboratory was hugely successful. Groundbreaking research by Dr. Roder and his colleagues at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto has led to new optimism for the development of better treatments and drugs for common psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder which are associated with abnormal brain development.

Dr. Gabor Maté: The Human Face of Addictive Behaviours
Presentation: June 3, 2008

Best-selling author Dr. Maté spoke on the many addictions in our culture, the emotional and spiritual pain they are meant to soothe, and the paths to healing.

Click here for more information about Dr. Maté's current best-seller, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addictions.
 
The proceeds from the ticket sales are helping to support mental health and substance abuse programs for children and youth including:
 
Substance Abuse Day Treatment Program for youth, ages 14 to 17, at SickKids Hospital in Toronto. 
 
Youth Residential Intensive Treatment Program for youth 12 to 18, at St. Joseph's Care Group, Thunder Bay.
 
Youth Education Program for high school students, provided by the FAME (Family Association for Mental Health Everywhere), Toronto.
 
Dr. John Roder Research Laboratory at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Roder's neuroscience research focuses on the causes of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Mental illness begins early in life, often during adolescence.
 
Portland Hotel Society in Vancouver, BC for its Onsite Clinic, to assist with education in the detox/recovery component affiliated with Insite, the clinic associated with the controversial harm reduction program for hard-core addicts. The Portland Hotel Society also provides housing to individuals with addictive behaviours who also have a mental illness.
 
Queen Alexandra Children's Foundation in Victoria, BC to assist with the work at Ledger House, the only mental health hospital for those under 19 on Vancouver Island. 
 
Outpatient Treatment for Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa Study is an important international study that our Foundation is helping to promote. The study is led by Stanford University in California and being conducted at the University Health Network and SickKids Hospital. Researchers are looking for girls and boys, 12 to 18 years of age, who are underweight and appear to be excessively preoccupied with their weight and/or shape. For more information, please contact Reva Schachter at 416 340-4800 Ext. 3894.