Coast Mental Health begins awareness campaign
By Adnews Staff
Vancouver-based non-profit organization Coast Mental Health broke a public awareness campaign on Oct. 3 in conjunction with Mental Illness Awareness Week. The “Psychosiphobia” campaign, which will run through the month of October, seeks to inform residents of British Columbia that mental illness is a medically treatable disease. The print and radio creative, created by Grey Worldwide Northwest, depicts situations in which people perceived as having a mental illness are shunned by those around them. The ads direct viewers and listeners to a website at <http://www.psychosiphobia.com> for more information. “Mental illness is a treatable illness, not unlike diabetes or cancer,” said Heather Edgar, a spokesperson for the organization. “It is not something that people ask for, deserve or that people should assign blame to, but rather an illness that could affect anyone. “With this campaign, we are asking British Columbians to look at themselves and how they view people with mental illness.” Coast Mental Health provides housing and employment, along with community and emotional support, to people with mental illness.