People First Radio

Ann Livingston has spent decades helping drug user groups organize. In the 1990s, she helped co-found the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, and is currently working with the Nanaimo Area Network of Drug Users (NANDU). “ A drug user group in the simplest mission statement is to improve the lives of people who have not […]

Lexie Morgan is a registered clinical counsellor. She does work with the Sea to Sky chapter of a group called Mountain Muscox, which offers support to people who have experienced trauma or loss in the mountains. She spoke with People First Radio about the group and her work. When someone had experienced a traumatic event, […]

Writer Jordan Kawchuk is preparing to speak as a lived experience speaker at a Nanaimo Foundation event called Rethinking Drinking. “My lived experience is that I’ve been to treatment many times and I wrestle with alcohol use disorder,” he said. “I hope to that the community can see that alcohol use disorder is a disease. […]

Independent musicians from around coastal B.C. speak about mental health in the industry, following on the heels of a report from music industry leadership consultancy Revelios that identified significant challenges faced by Canadians working in music. The episode features Revelios president and founder Catherine Harrison, as well as musicians Jeff Cancade AKA Devours, NEAVV, and […]

Home Based Recovery Executive Director Rob DeClark says he’s spent the last few decades working in the in patient treatment industry. “ The landscape changed considerably in terms of the amount of options and also in terms of the cost of treatment,” he says. DeClark says that when he entered the field, a six week in […]

Elaine Power says a few decades back, close to the start of her career, Canada started viewing food as the solution to food insecurity. Power is now approaching retirement from her work as a professor at Queen’s University focused on food insecurity, while the number of Canadians who are food insecure is on the rise. […]

The Ethics Bowl is billed as “a space where discussion is used to untangle the nuanced topics.” Ethics Bowl events see teams present positions on complex topics like and face questions from judges and fellow competitors. Example subjects covered include the moral implications of life sentences without the opportunity for parole, or the ethics of […]

Victoria filmmaker Cory Thibert says he never saw a family like his depicted on screen, which was the starting point for his debut narrative feature film, Mildlife. “ Both of my parents live with cerebral palsy,” he said, “I’ve never seen that represented.” Thibert spoke with People First Radio about the film, which had its Canadian […]

Clown Fish tells the story of Paul Tedeschini’s journey through life as an actor moving across Canada and navigating various emotional challenges. The show is being performed by Tedeschini at Nanaimo’s OV Arts Centre through March 1st. He visited the CHLY studio, along with the show’s director Nicolle Nattrass, to speak about it. Clown Fish […]

North Cowichan resident Royce Warren has spent much of his life working in resource industries. “I’ve been a forester, I’ve been a miner, I’ve been a commercial fisherman. I’ve farmed for a number of years,” he said. “A lot of that was earlier on in my life and I decided to go to university and […]

Priya Sharma and Kayleigh Busch met working in the field of mental health and substance use support in Victoria. The pair say they consistently noticed a need among the population they serve. “Time and time again, we work with individuals who show that they’re motivated and they’re putting in all of this work to wanna […]

The manager of a Nanaimo supportive housing site says that almost one year on from breaking ground, the community is coming together around 1030 Old Victoria Road. “Even those folks that were coming in with those tricky questions in the early days are wanting to be a part of what we’re doing here,” said Dolly […]