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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, May 25, 2012 · 16 Peace of Minds Walk to help abolish stigma By John Bkila OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The stigma surrounding schizophrenia is a massive obstacle that needs to be overcome for proper treatment to occur, according to a peer support worker at an outpatient, communitybased program for people experiencing early stages of psychosis in Halton. "Stigma is actually one of the things that stops people from accessing services in the first place. (It's) accountable for a lot of untreated mental illnesses and I'm one that believes untreated mental illness is a vicious cycle," said Sarah Moir, a peer recovery mentor with Halton's Early Intervention Phoenix Program. "If you're unwell, if you're hiding, you don't know what do to and you're not going to do as well as if you were treating your illness. You're not engaged in your life to the best of your abilities. And these things hold you back financially and socially, keep you quite isolated and living in poverty." To help abolish that stigma, Moir, along with more than 100 others, will be participating in the fifth annual Peace of Minds Walk for Schizophrenia (previously the Walk of Hope) on Sunday (May 27). Put on by the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario (SSO) Halton/Peel chapter, the five-kilometre fundraising walk will be held at Coronation Park (1426 Lakeshore Rd. W.), in support of SSO programs and research -- registration begins at 10:30 a.m., followed by the walk at 11 a.m. Those interested in participating in The SSO website describes it as a, "psychotic disorder, which involves a loss of contact with reality, making it very hard for a person to distinguish between what is real and what is not. Schizophrenia greatly alters how a person thinks and perceives the world, and consequently how they feel and behave." Often misunderstood, schizophrenia strikes people in their prime, usually in their late teens or early adult years, such that it is known as `youth's great disabler.' Moir works at the Phoenix Program with a clinical team, which includes a psychiatrist, social worker, nurses and occupational therapists, to not only help remove the stigma of mental illness, but to help those experiencing psychosis get the proper treatment they need. In its fifth year, the Phoenix Program works in partnership with the SSO, Halton Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Assessment, Prevention and Treatment (ADAPT) Services, Halton Healthcare Services, Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital, and the Region's North Halton Mental Health Clinic to help people experiencing a first episode of psychosis and who have not previously been medicated or treated. "I work one-on-one (with the individual) on the pieces of recovery that is not based on medicine, so things like getting back into the community, trying new things and beginning to think of yourself as a full individual, not somebody with mental illness," Moir said. To a degree, there's a certain amount See Walk page 17 the event can register online at www. schizophrenia.on.ca or in person on the day of the walk. Schizophrenia is a brain disease that is twice as prevalent as Alzheimer's disease and six times as prevalent as insulin-dependent diabetes. It affects one in 100 people -- approximately 300,000 in Canada and 130,000 in Ontario. POOL HEATER REPAIR R MANUFACTURE E IC RV SE D NE TRAI TECHNICIANS WE SERVICE & CARRY PARTS FOR: TD LAARS, JANDY, HAYWARD, RAYPAK, PENT AIR, MINI MAX, STA-RITE WOOD N' FLOOR We install all Kinds of Floors, Stairs and Railings Serving Oakville residents for over 20 years. Since 1982 Solving Problems 905-845-0701 Experience is the difference! "Refinish Your Wood Floor Like New" We will beat every written quote! W Math French Email:scott@gasfix.ca Call KAZ (905) 338-1881 Pre-K to Grade 12 Grammar www.woodnfloor.ca Writing Homework and be free. The Best s Come From Understanding Approach the process of learning properly and you wind up creating more than hard-working students with good marks. You build motivated, self-assured, independent thinkers who really understand what they learn. That means better grades...on every test, in every subject, and on every report card. A' Reading Study Skills Call today, or visit oxfordlearning.com Oakville South 905.849.4027 oakvillesouth@oxfordlearning.com Oakville North East 905.257.1207 oakvillene@oxfordlearning.com Oakville North 905.469.1929 oakville@oxfordlearning.com