Today is Plaid Friday and the City of Prince George is encouraging everyone to shop locally. So put on your plaid and support small and independent businesses. From restaurants to antiques, and groceries to boutiques, downtown Prince George has everything. Shop locally not just today, but this holiday season.
For a full list of places to shop and eat click here.
Image courtesy of Downtown Prince George. 2020. Find them on Facebook here.
Another track off of Danny Bell His Disappointments’ new album is out! Here’s “Doing Sound” along with a looping stressed-out sound tech shadow by Silky Hen Design. "Songs for the Town" is coming your way December 11th on Vinyl and CD.
A song about being a sound tech. It jokes about the drawbacks of working while friends enjoy a night out, but I miss it dearly at this point. I love doing so...
CFUR was pleased to cover a number of events at this years Inspiring Women Among Us event series from Nov 18-25th, 2020.
Image courtesy of Inspiring Women Among Us.
We began our week with an interview with co-founder and UNBC faculty member, Zoe Meletis, who spoke to the origins of IWAU, the recognition they have received from the city of Prince George, and her motivation to keep pushing for more diversity in leadership.
City of Prince George declares Inspiring Women Among Us Week
Zoe Meletis, UNBC faculty member and co-founder of IWAU. Photo courtesy of UNBC.
Image courtesy of IWAU.
Next, we spoke with Elaine Alec, professional planner and author, in preparation of her event Reading, Resiliency, and Indigenous Leadership. Her debut novel Calling My Spirit Back is an account of survival, intergenerational trauma, and healing.
Elaine Alec to present her debut novel at Inspiring Women Among Us conference
Image courtesy of IWAU.
Finally, we sat down (virtually) with life coach Zandra Ross as she talks us through the importance of positivity, humour, and breaking down our own self-defeating tendencies.
Inspiring End to an Inspiring Event: Zandra Ross on Imposter Syndrome
Listen to recordings of a selection of the week’s events here:
Books of Influence (Nov 18, 2020)
Imposter Syndrome: Sharing Stories and Strategies (Nov 24, 2020)
Commemorative Ceremony for the Montreal Massacre (Nov 25, 2020)
The IWAU Sharing Power Now! event is happening…well right now! Join them (online of course) from now until November 25th, where they will be hosting a variety of inclusive and amazing events.
Find their schedule here.
For more information about IWAU visit them at https://iwau.ca/ .
Photo courtesy of Inspiring Women Among Us 2020.
Join us on November 30th at 3pm online for our annual general meeting.
The meeting will be hosted on zoom. Please RSVP by facebook through this event or email stationmanager@cfur.ca. Please ensure your name on zoom matches the name on your RSVP to gain access to the meeting. Attendees will receive the meeting invite the day of the meeting.
Danny Bell and His Disappointments new album, Songs for the Town, is out December 11th. Today they released an animated video by Northern BC artist Silky Hen. It was drawn frame-by-frame during an artist residency at the Gavin Lake Forest Education Centre in the Cariboo this past fall. “Riverbank” was recorded at Pulp City Records in Prince George, BC.
The album touches on topics like depression, small-time music industry satire, Danny’s experience immigrating to Canada, social division, and the thoughts and aspirations of two dogs. Coming soon on vinyl, CD, and streaming platforms.
Pre-Sale for Danny Bell and His Disappointments new album "Songs for the Town" up now at https://dannybell.org/newalbum. Animated using a frame-by-frame appr...
Theme song retro continues with PUR and Lewis MacKinnon. Tune in for that and more great tunes!
Danny Bell & His Disappointments’ new album "Songs for the Town" is coming your way December 11th! Here is a teaser for a new animated music video to be released on November 18th. The animation was drawn frame-by-frame by northern BC artist Silky Hen Design.
Full Video Release on November 18th New Album, "Songs for the Town" Release - December 11th
Image courtesy of Autism Canada (autismcanada.org)
By Courtney Hayhurst
When it comes to mental health, there are lots of misconceptions and pieces of misinformation out there. Of those that experience mental health challenges, those with autism are often amongst the most misunderstood. That autistic people are emotionless robots or that vaccines cause autism are just two examples of some of the deep misunderstandings that surround the autistic community. These misunderstandings can lead to discrimination and stigmatization, and contributes to the acceptance (or lack thereof) of the autistic community.
Acceptance of the autistic community in Canada, as well as around the world, is lacking. Accepting people with autism into social circles, incorporating their needs into events, or even accepting autistic people into the workplace is something society still struggles with. From a 2012 Canadian Survey on Disability, the general population held an employment rate of 92.7%. Comparatively, autistic adults held a 14.3% employment rate. This data exemplifies the amount of work Canadians still need to do regarding the acceptance of people with autism.
Along with a lack of acceptance also comes mental health impacts. Cage and Di in the 2018 article “Experiences of Autism Acceptance and Mental Health in Autistic Adults”, found that acceptance, either from external sources (i.e. family, friends and society) or internal sources (i.e personal perceptions of autism) greatly impacted the mental health of autistic adults. This study discovered that depression is greatly impacted and predicted by the level of acceptance from external sources. Families were found to “...have a large role in helping autistic individuals develop the skills needed to become successful adults in society” as said by Cage and Di. In addition to this, the study also found that social support received from family and friends were not correlated with feelings of loneliness in autistic adults. The acceptance from external sources has been found to be a “...protective factor against depression”. Internal perceptions of acceptance also impacts symptoms of depression, and Cage and Di found that the greater acceptance a person has, the lower the symptoms of depression.
The above research offers some excellent insight into the well being of the autistic community, though it is focused mainly in London, England. Canadian data from the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability offers a much more local dataset which actually still aligns closely to the findings of the European study mentioned above.
According to the 2017 survey, of the autistic population in Canada only 16% describe their health as good, or very good. This is directly contrasted to the 70% who describe their health as either good or very good, but are of the general population. This vast difference between the two communities shows that Canada is still lacking the necessary support systems and acceptance levels to maintain the good mental health of those in the autistic community.
Corey Walker, a Prince George and Northern BC autism advocate, is familiar with the struggles that the autistic community faces day to day. In addition to being an advocate, Corey has also been personally diagnosed with aspergers, and through both his personal and professional journeys he has incredible personal experiences fighting for acceptance in Canada. In the interview below, Corey discusses stigma, autism, and how communities can come together to become more accepting.
In Prince George, one organization in particular has dedicated a part of their mission to building an inclusive space for the community. In the past few years Theatre North West has successfully incorporated “Relaxed Performances”, which are dedicated to those with disabilities, sensory processing disorders, and even to parents with small children. Marnie Hamagami, Executive Director of Theatre North West, helped to build this program, and in the interview below discusses why creating inclusive spaces matters, and what they mean to the community as a whole.
Works Cited:
Cage, Edith and Jessica Di. “Experiences of Autism Acceptance and Mental Health in Autistic Adults”. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, vol. 48, no. 2, 2018.
