The Living with Mental Illness Conference LWMI is dedicated to providing information and support to those individuals who live with someone who has a mental illness. It provides an opportunity for those caregivers and family to gain knowledge and support in a caring environment.
Friday, May 6th, 2016
Saskatoon Travelodge Hotel
106 Circle Drive West, Saskatoon SK
8:00 am – 4:00 pm
The LWMI conference is a nonprofit provincial conference that has been in existence for 23 years. Approximately 200 people attend the conference on an annual basis including consumers of mental health and their families and friends as well as professionals and students of health care. The conference has a concurrent child and youth conference which provides information and supportto children and teens that have parents or loved ones with a mental illness. It is a fun supportive environment for attendees to learn about their parent’s illness and also learn coping strategies to manage the stress that often occurs in their family.
The conference follows a similar format from year to year; a family panel which allows attendants to hear other persons stories about what it is like to care for someone with a mental health issue, and learn some ideas and tips for coping and staying healthy. This is followed by a key note speaker and an expert in an area of mental health or self-care. The afternoon consists of breakout sessions that talk about various specific diagnoses and provide specific information and treatment options; attendants have the opportunity to choose the topics that they want to learn about.
Objectives:
1. To provide families with information about mental illness including treatment options.
2. To liaise with community resources.
3. To provide a forum to foster mutual support among workshop participants.