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The 8th National Mental Health Conference in Winnipeg March 21-23

I was fortunate to be able to attend the recent National Mental Health Conference in Winnipeg.

There were many helpful sessions, including on youth suicide and on crystal meth in Manitoba and its impacts on health and justice.  I found the presentation by Delores Daniels, the mother of Serena McKay, to be particularly moving.   She spoke eloquently about bullying, gossip and lateral violence using her personal journey and experience as Serena McKay's mother to illustrate the importance of addressing these issues. 

Troy Draper shared his own experience with crystal meth and showed that people with meth addiction can recover.  For more on his story click on this link - Troy Draper story.

Sharon Blady spoke of her own lived experience, explaining how her own struggles with depression gave her the ability to be more empathetic when she was the Minister of Health for Manitoba.   Her experience shows the positive contribution that people who have this lived experience can make - a fact which is reinforced in the stories of leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill who have had experience with depression who went on to make major contributions.

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