The Mind Foundation welcomes donations and bequests to support the services provided by the BC Schizophrenia Society to people with schizophrenia and psychosis and their families. The BC Schizophrenia Society (BCSS) does an astounding amount of work each year to make a lasting difference in the lives of families throughout BC each year. The following description provides details on just how much.  Donations marked for BCSS programs and services can be made to either the Mind Foundation or the BC Schizophrenia Society.

The BC Schizophrenia Society Head Office

BCSS serves tens of thousands of people with serious mental illness and their families each year. 4,772 people received one on one personal support. 24,076 teens participated in our Reach Out forum. 410 families graduated from our strengthening Families Program, 813 grade four students attended our puppet shows, 602 new police attended our Partnership presentations and 148,600 pages of information was visited on our websites.

Provincially Administered Regional Services

The BCSS Provincial Office has a network of regional coordinators who provide direct support and education services to families in 15 communities throughout BC.

BCSS coordinator duties vary slightly depending on needs of each specific region, but all coordinators help individuals access resources for people with serious mental illness, do public education presentations in the community, and organize family support groups.

Provincial and Regional Programs

Other BCSS programs include the ReachOut Psychosis Concert Tour, the Reaching Families Project (online support groups, calendar and e-newsletters), BRIDGES, Family Respite, Kids in Control and Teens in Control.

Programs and Services

Board Member Mark Churchland

The MIND Foundation Grant Recipient Selection Committee met May 20, 2011 to review a total of seven grant applications. The three categories were reviewed separately and consensus was gained for all three categories. The results of the Selection Committee meeting were reported to the MIND Foundation Board on May 26, 2011 and approved. The following is a brief description of the work being undertaken by each of the winners.
1:  Open Grant Applications for up to $20,000;

• Dr. Vina Goghari is receiving a grant to study the beneficial effects of regular exercise in an attempt to improve facial emotions recognition in patients with schizophrenia. Antipsychotic medications are ineffective and alternate methods are needed to improve real world functioning. The 12 week program is expected to create changes in the temporal lobe regions of the brain which are expected to improve the skills of the patients.

• Dr. Clare Beasley is receiving a grant to study the transport of synaptic proteins along axons  which is hypothesized to be faulty in schizophrenia. The study will be done on postmortem brains of individuals with and without schizophrenia. This may offer clues for the development of novel treatments.

• Dr. Patricia Nolan is receiving a grant to study effective psychosocial adjuncts to pharmacotherapy. The trial seeks to assess the effectiveness of metacognitive training, group cognitive-behavioral therapy and a combination of both. This is a promising approach to improving the quality of life in patients with schizophrenia.

2: Post Doctoral Fellowship for $40,000

•  Kwang Hee Jung is receiving a grant to optimize the available methods for analyzing   networks of brain regions and to apply these methods to data already collected on schizophrenia. The work will look at the Task Positive and Task Negative areas of the brain which is work the MIND Foundation has supported in the past. (with Todd Woodward)

3: Young Investigators Award for $100,000 over two years

• Dr. Tonia Nicholls is receiving a grant to assess the impact of closing River View Hospital B.C.’s only tertiary psychiatric hospital which is scheduled to close in 2012. The study will examine all patients transferred to regional tertiary psychiatric facilities. Follow-up assessments will be completed every six months for a total of two years. Funds will be applied for to follow up after 5 and 10 years. It is hoped that better methods of determining which patients are given which treatments through this process can be developed.

• Dr. Clare Beasley is receiving a grant to study the abnormalities of glutamate neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity in individuals with schizophrenia. Specifically to assess the number of astrocytes and to quantify molecules involved in astrocyte regulation of glutamate neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity in postmortem brain tissue. Both brain tissue from schizophrenic and non schizophrenic individuals will be studied

Program to Support a PhD Student

The MIND Foundation had agreed to support a PhD candidate if matching funds could be obtained from the Michael Smith Foundation. We have the funds available to do this annually. Unfortunately this did not happen because of uncertainties in the availability of funds from the Michael Smith Foundation. In the past we have worked with CIHR to gain matching funds and we will work with them in 2012 to support a suitable candidate.

Plans for the 2012 Grant Process

There were a relatively small number of grant applications this year. An effort will be made in the coming Grant cycle to advertise more broadly and to increase the emphasis on addiction as well as schizophrenia. This will be done by improving the information on the website and by directly contacting the heads of the various research organizations in B.C. as we launch the competition. Approval for the completion will be discussed in a subsequent meeting of the board.

Mark Churchland,  Grants Committee Chair
September 21, 2011

Dr Honer is a member of the BC Schizophrenia Society Medical Advisory Board.

Please check out some of the pictures from the event.

Jane Duval (Executive Director), Deborah Conner (Board Chair, MIND Foundation) & Darryl Conner, Alan Bordeville (Board Member) and Mae Cabbott (Board Member)

Dr. Clare Beasley

The MIND Foundation of BC raises funds for schizophrenia research, and for the programs and services offered by the BC Schizophrenia Society.  We are pleased to recognize the following recipients of six grants awarded to young schizophrenia researchers this year:

• Grants for up to 20K: Dr. Vina Gohari, Dr. Clare Beasley, and Dr. Patricia Nolan
• Post-Doctoral Fellowship of $40,000:  Kwang Hee Jung
• Young Investigators Awards for $100,000 over 2 years: Dr. Tonia Nicholls and Dr. Clare Beasley

We will continue to report back on these individuals and their stories over the course of the next year.

Please see a list of our funded research to date.

Deborah Conners, Board Chair

Board Chair: Deborah Conners –

Prior to working on a new business venture, Deborah enjoyed nine years working in the non-profit sector, serving as Executive Director and Director of Development in the environmental, social and educational sectors. In addition to her non-profit experience, she has worked in municipal and provincial government, and in the finance sector. Deborah holds a Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Communication, a Minor in Kinesiology and a MA in Philanthropy and Development.

Deborah’s favourite activities are kayaking and hiking, but just about any time outdoors spent with family and friends appeals to her.

Deborah served as the Director of Development for BCSS through 2006 and 2007. She is a past president of the BC Schizophrenia Society.

Bonnie Abbot

Board Member: Bonnie Abbott –

Bonnie Abbott’s background is in the corporate sector, with over 25years experience in technical sales and business development. Her prior roles also include the development and management of private sector corporate-giving structures.

Bonnie has also been successful in property development, and has a strong working knowledge of the architectural and engineering communities.

Born in Vancouver, Bonnie has lived all her life in British Columbia.Her favourite activities are gardening and home renovations.

Mae Cabott served as a School Trustee for 6 years, and City Councillor for 4 years in Maple Ridge. She served 9 years as Chairperson of the Women’s Transition Home in Maple Ridge. Ms Cabott has had a long Career in Psychiatric Nursing and served as a member of the Veteran’s Review and Appeal Board for 5 years.

Presently, she is Policy Chair for the Vancouver Center Federal Liberal Party and a Director and Fundraiser for the Mind Association. She assists in coordinating Planned Giving Seminars for branches.

Dr. Churchland has served on the Mind Board annual grants completion committee for the past three years. He comes from a background leading the organizations (development and engineering) within Weyerhaeuser, Trus Joist MacMillan and MacMillan Bloedel. He has  served  on the Marcus Wallenberg Selection Committee. (www.mwp.org) for two and a half years, and retain the position of “Senior Advisor” to the sitting committee.

Fred Dawe

Board Member: Fred Dawe
Fred Dawe retired from corporate sector in 1990 and has been very active in serving the interests of people with schizophrenia and their families. He is the President of the BC Schizophrenia Society, and past president of the Schizophrenia Society of Canada.

He has served on hiring committees for former and current UBC Chair in Schizophrenia Research, and assisted in development of MIND Foundation of BC.

He is a member of the BC Alliance for Mental Health/Illness and Addictions and a member of BC Community Action Initiative, responsible for allocation of $10 million for BC’s new 10-year Mental Health Plan.