The North Shore Schizophrenia Society is here to help you cope - with support, information, counseling, education, advocacy and fellowship.

The NSSS consists of family members and friends of the mentally ill who know what others are going through, and can help by sharing their experience.

At the heart of our operation is the Family Support Centre: suite 205, 1865 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, open between 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. Please call us at 604-926-0856 to arrange an appointment.  If you’re not free during those hours, we’ll meet with you when you can make it.  Residents of the Sea to Sky Corridor can call the Centre at the above number or contact Sue, our contact person in Squamish, at 604-898-9372.

The Centre provides personal support and information on major mental illnesses - schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders and eating disorders. We also provide a wide range of programs, plus education and information for schools and the general public. To find out more about these programs and our other activities, please explore this website.

Family-to-Family Education Course begins September 16
The fall session of Family-to-Family will run Tuesday evenings from September 16 to December 2, 2008.  Family-to-Family is an intensive, 12 week program for anyone with a mentally ill relative or close friend. More than just an education course, participants have described Family-to-Family as life-changing.  See the full course curriculum here.

Family Support Group
The Family Support Group meets on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If you wish to attend, please call 604-926-0856 to register and confirm the next date .

The Family Support Group provides an opportunity for those whose loved ones have a mental illness to share experiences and insights with each other. For details, see our Support Group page.

Sea to Sky Family Support Group
For those who live in or near Squamish or Whistler, our Sea to Sky Family Support Group meets in Squamish on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m.  For more information, please call 604-898-9372.

17th Walk the World for Schizophrenia
What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning - music, sunshine, friends and fresh air to enjoy while raising awareness about serious mental illness in our community.  The West Vancouver Adult Pops Band brought a festive atmosphere with their assortment of instruments and delightful musical choices.  Special thanks to guest speaker Corporal Fred Harding of the West Vancouver Police Department for his thoughtful and encouraging words at the opening of the Walk.  We are most thankful to live in a community where our police handle difficult situations involving the mentally ill with kindness and sensitivity. 

We are also thankful to have friends and neighbours in the business community who help make events like Walk the World for Schizophrenia possible.  As part of the Starbucks Coffee Make Your Mark program, we had volunteers from locations in Ambleside, Dundarave and Caulfeild who brought hot, fresh coffee, and helped set up and distribute information and materials to the public.  In addition to encouraging volunteerism among Starbucks employees, the program also pays grants to participating organization based on the total volunteer hours involved in their event.  Watch here for an update! 

A huge "thank you!" to all the volunteers and participants  who made this one of our most successful Walks.  We would also like to thank Canada Safeway in Ambleside, Marketplace IGA in Dundarave, Vancity Insurance and ING Insurance for their donations and other support of the 17th annual Walk the World for Schizophrenia.

Everybody Loves A Parade!
Three cheers for the volunteers who participated in our entries in the West Vancouver Community Day Parade and North Shore Canada Day Parade.  We carried our new banner and wore our new t-shirts in front of thousands of people.  

Hundreds of information sheets on schizophrenia were distributed to spectators on Canada Day.  Special thanks to Mike Kelly, who drove his 1949 Austin in the West Vancouver parade again this year, and to the James family who drove their 1958 Cadillac in the Canada Day parade.

Citizens Bank Shared Interest Award
Your votes made a difference! We are pleased to announce that we have been awarded $7,840 to help provide our programs and services on the North Shore.  The nomination took us by surprise last fall and we are honoured to have had the opportunity to participate.  Considering some of our competitors are very well known international organizations like Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders, we are very pleased with the results.

NSSS in the Community
Local events are a great way to spread the word about who we are and what we do.  Our display was spotted recently at the North Shore Festival of Volunteers at Park Royal Shopping Centre, and at the Transition Planning Fair for Young Adults with Disabilities at the William Lucas Centre for Continuing Education.  Thanks to all the volunteers who teamed up to provide information to the public about our programs and services!
 

Donate Online through Canada Helps
If you wish to support the work of this website or the North Shore Schizophrenia Society's programs generally, you can now do so online, using the facilities of Canada Helps, the online donations agency for non-profit groups in Canada. It's the quick and easy way to help us continue to offer counselling, education and other support services. Click here to view our page on Canada Helps.