Regent Park Focus

For this edition of Health Talks Youth Radio, we had our wonderful panel discussion with our youth participants discussing how they navigated through school stress while school was in. We chatted about the issue only to celebrate that it’s finally over. Some of the questions we explored were: What’s a way school stress has affected you emotionally? I’m talking about how it has made you feel, the anxiety, the sorrow, the anger, the frustration. What’s the worst and best emotions from the school term for you? So how’s school stress affected you psychologically? This can be something like how it makes you doubt your ability to finish assignments, to do well in exams- all that. Or what about some stories you heard from friends and classmates? Sometimes, because the body and mind are connected, we can have physical symptoms from school stress. How has school stressed you out- did you have to have all-nighters, difficulty sleeping because of worry, physical weakness trying to keep ...

For this episode of Health Talks Radio, we interviewed some youth participants about their experience with drugs. We asked them five questions, which were about what they knew about recreational drugs, if they or someone they knew used them, would they consider using them, if they used them then why, and what new drugs have they heard about. Overall, the youth participants didn’t seem to have much knowledge or information when it comes to drug use and didn’t seem to have much of an interest in participating in drug use. The most popular recreational drug the youth knew about was marijuana. Some just knew that many people use it, the smell and use of it, but one youth participant claims it is not a recreational drug but an “herb” because it comes from a plant, so is more natural than most recreational drugs and is often utilized for medical purposes. The youth participants had interesting responses to the questions, but most didn’t seem to have any special interest in pur...

For the April 14th episode of The Women's Hour, cohost Nina Reyes sat down with Lori Dennis about her book "Lyme Madness" and going through the odyssey of understanding Lyme Disease to help her son who got it while he was away and studying in New York, and the lack of support from the medical community. Helping the Lyme community out, Lori talks about the many ways the condition is not properly addressed by the medical community and how it has become a "Do-It-Yourself Disease". Listen to Podcast:

For our April 3rd episode of Catch da Flava Youth Radio, host Travis talked to president of the National Association of Cannabis Professionals, Carolyn Tinglin. In light of the passing of second reading for the bill to legalize marijuana in Canada, the government has predicted sale of recreational marijuana will likely take effect around the end of Summer, in September. From discussions on the bill, to the benefits of marijuana use for medical purposes, to how to understand and identify the difference between therapeutic use or substance abuse of marijuana, Carolyn is all answers for this conversation. She discusses what it is in marijuana that creates a “high” for users of the medicinal plant. She shares some important information when it comes to marijuana use in youth and how youth can address it in friends or in themselves. When discussing why Carolyn decided to create the National Association of Cannabis Professionals (NACP), she cited her background work in nursing ...

For this episode of Catch da Flava Youth radio show, host Diamond Bailey introduced the topic of e-cigarettes and what we may think about it. Diamond introduced information on the topic, citing that a study of over 44,000 high school students in Ontario and Alberta was published last month in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), stating a "strong and robust" linkage between so-called vaping and subsequent tobacco use. With that knowledge, Diamond started the discussion about vaping and e-cigarettes for youth participants Beverley, Joel, and Johanna. Some of her questions considered their thoughts on smoking and the use of cigarettes and vaping among youth, their views on the relationship between vaping and increased drug use later in life, and the appeal of e-cigarettes to youth. Many of the youth participants offered up varied opinions, but the general consensus seemed to be that vaping and cigarettes was not a favorable habit to develop, and that although many ...

For Catch da Flava’s October 17th show, host Diamond Bailey held a panel discussion about post-secondary students reaching for ADHD drugs and other stimulants to achieve academic success. With students stressed and frazzled, they have turned to studying with the aid of prescription pills that are not necessarily their own.​ With 65 per cent of students surveyed by the Center of innovation for campus Mental Health saying that they experienced overwhelming anxiety in the last year, an increase from 57 per cent in 2013, we agreed that the increased stress students faced should encourage them to look to other coping mechanisms rather than such a dangerous alternative.​ Additionally, we discussed the topic of Nootropics also known as “smart drugs.” They are cognitive enhancers and are yet to be legal, so we wondered whether the government should allow it to be legally sold as it is illegal to sell in Canada. ​ Accordingly, we talked about the many side effects of ADHD drugs an...

For this edition of Catch da Flava Youth Radio, we talked to Erdine Hope, a mental health case worker  in the Regent Park community, about mental health, addiction and her journey to being clean for 22 years. Jaidyn and I delved into the challenging and rewarding world of a mental health case worker and learned about what a mental health case worker does, the challenges they face, and how Erdine started her career as a case worker. Erdine talked about her ongoing work with youth who have mental illness and/or addictions. She gets connected with youth in need through the courts, hospitals, and on a referral basis. One intriguing challenge she talked about was the difference between  working with men and women. From her twenty years of experience, she’s found that women are, “harder to transition into case management because they are more self-reliant.” On the other hand, she's found that men usually rely on the one-on-one support that comes with case management. F...