THANKS!

We wish to thank all of the Mad Pride organizers, participants, and sponsors for making this year's Mad Pride the most successful to date! We'll be back in the spring to starting planning Mad Pride 2011!

Thanks everyone!

Mad Pride 2010 advance comprehensive listing

Mad Pride 2010 advance comprehensive listing

Check updates @ www.madpridetoronto.blogspot.com

In Toronto July 12 – 18 is Mad Pride Week. A strong and
tenacious tradition of community celebration, education and recognition in the name of pride makes our Mad Pride Week here in Toronto extra special.

“The first known event specifically organized as a
Pride event by people who identify as psychiatric survivors/consumer/ex-patients was in Toronto, Canada when it was called ‘psychiatric survivor’ pride Day” held on September 18, 1993. It was first held in response to local community prejudices towards people with a psychiatric history living in boarding homes in the Parkdale area of the city, and has been held every year since then in this city except 1996.” (Wikipedia 2010, The Consumer/Survivor Information Resource Centre Bulletin, No 374, July 14 2008:2-3)

Certainly we hope you are able to attend this great and empowering event, and encourage others to do the same!


LISTINGS All events are free and accessible.*indicates refreshments

Monday July 12th: 3:30pm to8pm*
May Robinson Auditorium, 20 Westlodge Ave.
Mad and Proud By Houselink
Featuring: PCLS Legal Jeopardy – No Your Rights
-Presentations about ‘What gives us strength’
-Movie: ‘These Broken Wings’ – 75 min, documentary
Featuring the stories of two women who recovered from schizophrenia: Joanne Greenberg, author of the best selling novel I Never Promised You A Rose Garden, and Catherine Penney, a mental health nurse in California whose healing tale was chronicled by her therapist Daniel Norman MD, in the book Dante’s Cure: A journey out of madness.
-film is followed by discussion

Tuesday July 13th: 1pm to 3pm
Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre, 1499 Queen Street West
Living Archives Project

The Living Archive Project is a community initiative run out of the Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre that aims to re-tell the history of PARC and Parkdale through film, performance and historical preservation done by and for PARC members. This year, we will present a short history of our project and screen our new short film: Survivors on Surviving” staring Alice and John Rogers.






2.
Wednesday July 14th: 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Gather on the southwest corner of Queen and Shaw
do to construction at the former patio site
1001 Queen Street West (Ossington Entrance)
The Patient Built Wall Tour
*featuring prelude w. May F.
By Geoffrey Reaume, of Psychiatric Survivor Archives Toronto
………………………………………

Thursday July 15th, 1pm to 4pm*
Members Lounge, Toronto City Hall
100 Queen Street West.
Still Crazy After All These Years*
By Consumer Survivor Show Case
RSVP to Timothy@awaycourier.ca
............................................

Friday July 16th, 5pm – 10pm*
May Robinson Auditorium
20 Westlodge Ave
Mad Culture Jam: -Dream Team – 5pm
-Open Stage - 5:30pm
-Pandemic Theatre – Imbalance 6:30
-A Tale of Intolerance, Charlene Zack 7pm
-The Friendly Spike Theatre Band presents
A reading of their new play
The Dega and The Delbasid -7:30pm
-Skit about Special Diet Changes, by Myrna Schacherl– 8:30pm
…………………………………………

Saturday July 17th, 1pm – 5pm*
Gather at the southwest corner of Queen and Shaw
do to construction at the former patio site
1001 Queen Street West and Parade
To PARC 1499 Queen W
Fourth Annual BedPush Parade,
Featuring
-An historical scene
-The PARC Drummers!
-The Bobbi Nahwegahbow Memorial Award
-Mad Pride Honors
-Party at PARC



Mad Pride!

STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!

June 30th, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

"STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!"
CSI TORONTO CELEBRATES MAD PRIDE WEEK
WITH A SURVIVOR SHOWCASE

On Thursday, July 15th Mad Pride Week will be celebrated at Toronto City Hall with a showcase of unique enterprises and initiatives. This enlightening and entertaining event will feature live music and spoken word performances, special presentations, free food and beverages and an Information Fair. This is a great opportunity to witness the creative potential of madness, as well as learning about the challenges faced by survivors. The Survivor Showcase is organized by the Toronto Consumer-Survivor Initiatives Network.

Consumer Survivor Initiatives are self-help groups, alternative businesses and support services managed and staffed by and for consumers of mental health services and other survivors of mental health challenges. The Toronto CSI Network is comprised of all the Consumer Survivor Initiatives (CSI) in the Toronto Central LHIN region. The Members of the Toronto CSI Network are:

A-Way Express Courier Service (Network Lead)
Friends and Advocates
C/S Information Resource Centre of Toronto
Ontario Council of Alternative Businesses
The Empowerment Council at CAMH
Sound Times Support Services
Fresh Start Cleaning and Maintenance

In addition to showcasing the work of these CSIs, we have also invited other survivor-led organizations to celebrate with us, including:

Mad Students Society
Psychiatric Survivor Archives of Toronto
Friendly Spike Theatre
The Dream Team

The event will be held in the Members' Lounge at Toronto City beginning at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, July 15th, 2010.

– 30 –

For more information, please contact Laurie Hall, Executive Director, A-Way Express, CSI Network Lead at:

416-424-2266

Mad Pride Week - July 12 - 18, 2010

Mad Pride Week

July 12 — 18, 2010

WHEREAS there are men and women around the world, from all walks of life and of all ages, who face mental health difficulties and challenges during their lives.

Emotional trauma has profound consequences on the quality of life of individuals and families and an economic impact on society.

Service organizations and agencies in our community raise public awareness about the discrimination and stigma attached to mental health. The promotion and awareness of mental illness is often achieved through the works of artists, educational endeavours and other supportive actions and efforts.

The fight for human rights and the elimination of discrimination and injustice help protect the rights of psychiatric survivors and other marginalized individuals, thereby empowering and improving their sense of well-being and quality of life.

We must all commit to the values of acceptance, self-determination and respect of individuality, and develop strong beliefs in the intrinsic worth and dignity of every human being.

NOW THEREFORE, I, Mayor David Miller, on behalf of Toronto City Council, do hereby proclaim July 12 — 18, 2010 as "Mad Pride Week" in the City of Torontand encourage all residents to support equal rights for everyone.

Mad Pride Hits Cork

Mad Pride hits Cork

Written by Christine Allen

Thursday, 20 May 2010

The battle against the stigma of mental illness will leap forward this weekend as the Mad Pride Family Fun Days kick off in Cork and Kerry to celebrate the "normality of madness". The third annual event hits Fitzgerald's Park on Sunday 6 June and will take place from 1 to 5pm and aims to break down stigma and increase awareness and understanding of mental illness.

Founded in 2008 by Cork Independent columnist, John McCarthy, the free event will feature entertainment by musical acts, street performers and clowns, as well as featuring food stalls.

"I am so proud to be holding our third event in Cork, when we started we never thought we would have had such an impact in such a short space of time," Mr McCarthy said.

The founder, who set up the event to promote the "normality of madness", said that plans were being made to bring Mad Pride Family Fun Day to Tullamore this year also. Since the foundation of the event, the fun days have also being run and enjoyed by over 20,000 people in Cork, Portlaoise and even Mbula Uganda.

HSE support

The HSE is also backing Mad Pride to host the family fun day in Killarney National Park on Saturday 22 May, encouraging the best practice in the fight against stigma in mental health as part of their International Conference being held in Kerry this week. Mr McCarthy said the support of the HSE was encouraging.

"The reaction of the public has been great but it is the fact that the establishment are waking up to the message we are spreading that gives us most encouragement. There seems to be an awakening to the need to look outside the current medical model, there seems to be awareness among some in the system that those suffering from emotional distress may not be best served through medication and incarceration," he said.

"We will continue to spread our message that through love and hope the community as a whole can live together with equality and dignity, and quite simply embrace difference and recognise the normality of madness." He invited families and individuals to come to the Cork venue on Sunday 6 June to join in the fun, laughter and music.

"There will be no speeches, no preaching and no lectures. We will simply enjoy each other's company in an open friendly fun way and hope that by doing so we can begin to focus on the positive gifts that we in the mad community bring to society, art, poetry, literature, eccentricity and sensitivity and dispense with the prejudice and fear that presently surrounds us," he said.

For more information about Mad Pride Ireland and Mad Pride Family Fun Days, visit www.madprideireland.ie