Jamal Ali
Jamal Ali is a writer and mental health advocate residing in Calgary. His work can also be found in Schizophrenia Digest and Alexandra Musings.
Recent post stories by Jamal Ali
Author’s insights on power offer hope in volatile times
Rebick draws heavily on her involvement with the women's movement in Canada in the early 1980s. She argues that the women's movement was powerful because of its political and personal relevance to women. "'The personal is political,' wasn't just a slogan, it was a lived reality," she writes. "To liberate women, we had to liberate ourselves— our minds, our bodies, and our emotions." It is interesting to note that feminist ideas and practices—specifically, egalitarianism and consensus politics—are among the most influential in the new movements and struggles described in this book. She sites the environmental and peace movements of the 1980s as two of the movements that benefited when feminists joined their ranks.A Gift of Grace illuminates schizophrenia’s impact on families
In A Gift of Grace (Upside Publishing and Productions, 2008), author Bea Weatherly shows her courage in revealing a secret that most would hide in shame. The Calgary author, who raised her family in a small Alberta town, is the mother of a son with schizophrenia who spent years coming to terms with the disorder and liberating herself from its stigma. At the start of her journey, Weatherly was a public school teacher raising three children together with her husband in small town Alberta. As time unfolds, Weatherly's idyllic life is turned upside down, as her son, Edward, battles both schizophrenia and substance abuse.Clubhouse movement helps Albertans with mental illness
Recreation-focused centre improve recovery rates, access to social services
A whopping 27 per cent of Canadians living with a mental illness are in need of adequate, suitable and affordable housing, which is double the rate of the general population. Clubhouses assist with housing issues, advocating for safe and affordable homes for people with mental illness.Suzan Desserud
The first in a series of profiling exceptional Albertans
Suzan Desserud's life reads like a novel. At seven years old, testing revealed her to be unusually bright -- brilliant, actually -- with an IQ of 171. . By the time she was 10, symptoms of schizophrenia forced Desserud to abandon early entry to college, although she wasn't formally diagnosed with the illness until the age of 34. These days, she is an employee with the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta's (SSACC) Calgary Chapter, a successful artist, and known for her outgoing personality and positivity. This spring, Desserud shared her story with the Post at her downtown condominium in Calgary.A golden retreat
The Goldeneye camp, which receives funding from the Alberta Mental Health Board, has been connecting people with schizophrenia since 1996. I first attended the retreat 10 years after its creation, in September 2006. Others who attended reported that they felt much the same way. After all, the urban jungle, with its buildings, busy streets and traffic, has poor effects on anyone's mental functioning over time. And for those with schizophrenia, the pace of a rapidly growing city can trigger the illness.Clubhouse offers safety and hope
Calgary's Potential Place Clubhouse is part of a thriving global movement offering a wellness-approach to mental illness
Within Calgary's downtown, there is an organization doing wonders for the mentally ill, transforming their lives from despair to hope. Potential Place Clubhouse is a mental health organization dedicated to protecting the human rights of those with mental illness. Potential Place is part of a mental health revolution that's restoring the dignity of the mentally ill to their rightful place in society. What is remarkable, is that it provides an atmosphere of recovery. Members can work, socialize and contribute to each other's well-being. In more than 350 places worldwide, the Clubhouse model has proven to be highly successful.Search the Post
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