Since 1991, the Network has provided mental health service users with a profound sense of community and belonging, as well as opportunities for social interaction, education, creative self-expression and having a powerful voice. Members who take part in Network programs do so as peers, not as clients or patients, and are self-referred.
The Network serves a unique population under-served by the mainstream mental health community of services. Our client population is often wary of mainstream services. They have had negative experiences negotiating the professional/client relationships other organizations live by and so they turn to the Network’s culture of peer-run services and activities where the problem of power and oppression is significantly reduced.
The Network is a charitable, non-profit society run wholly by and for people who have experienced treatment in the mental health system.
Our History
In 1999, the Network raised funds to run a "therapy of choice" program in concert with the BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health.
This program gave members funding to explore various therapies outside the mainstream mental health system. As the reputation of alternative ways of addressing mental health problems improves over the years, we believe charitable donors and researchers will look to organizations like ours as a base for further research.
With a strong local membership of more than 250 consumer/survivors finding their way back to wellness, the Network is well positioned to partner with anyone interested in furthering the cause of alternative healing.
We would also like to establish a safe house for women who have been through the mental health system and who need support in preventing crisis or emotional distress, which they may have experienced with in the system.
While recognizing that the regulatory and societal barriers to setting up this kind of housing pose serious challenges, the Network welcomes potential donors willing to explore the unique approach to social housing that this safe housing project hopes to provide.