The North Shore Schizophrenia Society is here to help you cope - with support, information, counselling, 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.

Registration Open for Spring Session of Family-to-Family
The spring session of Family-to-Family will run Tuesday evenings from January 20 to April 7, 2009.  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.  Class size is limited and pre-registration is required.  To register, please call Marguerite at the Family Support Centre at 604-926-0856.

Registered Disability Savings Plan
The RDSP is now available to residents of BC through Bank of Montreal (BMO Financial Group).  While the program received approval to begin December 1, individual provinces needed to approve exemptions for plan funds as assets or income.  British Columbia is one of the provinces already on board and Bank of Montreal is the first financial institution to offer the plan in BC.  If you'd like to get started before the tax year ends, act quickly!  For more information on the RSDP, click here.

Holiday Hours
The Family Support Centre will be open between Christmas and New Years from 9-5 Monday to Friday except December 25, 26 and January 1.  As always, it is better to call first if you are planning to come by as we can be called away at any time, without notice, to assist in a crisis.  Happy Holidays from the staff and board of directors!

Wasn't That a Party!
Every year, we bring patients and families together for a festive celebration with good music, food, and Santa Claus with his big bag of gifts.  The party may have moved to a new location, but this year's event was as much fun as ever!  As guests arrived, the West Vancouver Adult Pops Band played a merry assortment of Christmas carols.  We all enjoyed a fine meal together, joined in song and welcomed Santa with the whole room singing Here Comes Santa Claus.  Our thanks to the many, many volunteers who gave their time to make the NSSS Christmas party such a great success.

Public Education Evening: The Mental Health Act
John E. Gray, PhD, lead author of Canadian Mental Health Law and Policy, gave a packed house a great deal of information about the B.C. Mental Health Act, including involuntary admission and discharge criteria, Review Panels and Extended Leave.  For a copy of the Power Point slides, please email us.
For information on our long-running lecture series, click here.

Wills and Estate Planning
There is a lot to know about planning for the future and Rose-Marie Goodwin gave an outstanding presentation at the West Vancouver Memorial Library on Saturday, November 29, sharing her expertise with members of the society and members of the public alike.  If you would like more information on wills and estate planning, please email us.

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.

 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.