Disrupting Stigma and Discrimination

Stigma pushes people into the shadows. It isolates groups that are under-served. This often results in barriers to accessing services; worse quality of care; and poorer health outcomes. 

Stigma around mental health or substance use can make people feel they don't deserve care, or that if they try to get care they will not be taken seriously. It can cause significant discomfort and stop people from being open about the help they need. 

BCMHSUS is working to reduce stigma in the following ways

• Making it safe to share personal stories, for example through the UNITE project. This multi-year initiative aims to fight stigma faced by people living with mental health and substance use challenges.
• Facilitating dialogue to unpack unconscious biases, support learning and unlearning, and bring together diverse perspectives in a safe way
• Journey mapping with patients and clients to identify the gaps and opportunities within the care journey
• Embedding patient and client perspectives in everything we do, from policies to programming to stigma disruption initiatives 

The Understanding Each Other Together (UNITE) Project 

Led by BC Mental Health and Substance Use, these videos are a part of the "Understanding Each Other Together (UNITE)” Project: a journey into our experiences of stigma to celebrate diversity and create change”. The videos were created in collaboration with student designers from Emily Carr University.  

We want to disrupt stigma, demystify mental health and substance use, and highlight the positive role that health care providers can play in the road towards wellness. By sharing the stories of people living with mental health and substance use challenges, we can create space for more stories, more dialogue, and more healing – together as a community.

UNITE has two parts: Stories of Stigma and the Family Series 

Stories of Stigma  

Stories of Stigma is a three-part video series for health professionals, co-created with patient partners. It is the first part of the UNITE Project.  

The videos feature three people with mental health and substance use disorders. They tell how stigma affected each person's health care experience and outcomes.

Through these personal stories, we can learn, understand and improve the care we provide. 

Stigma: Stories of Experience

This video looks at the destructive and pervasive nature of stigma in our communities, including health care settings. The storytellers describe how stigma and discrimination has impacted their health, the care they received, and their ability to fully engage in their individual lives and reach their potential. 

Standing in the Gap: Stories of Experience 

This video focuses on the importance of health care providers and other support people in holding hope and healing, rather than contributing to the experience of stigmatization. These vital players in our journeys are referred to as ‘Gap Fillers’. 

Overcoming and Healing: Stories of Experience

This video highlights the strength of the storytellers – how they overcame the barriers created by stigma, what has fostered hope, and how they are working towards healing. 

Family Series

This three-part video series shares the stories of family members of people with lived and living experience of mental health complexities, substance use issues and criminalization. It explores the roles that families play and how stigma has impacted them, how they have navigated trust and identity, and their insights and hopes for the health care system.  

Three family members were brought together by BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services to share their narratives and wisdom as caregivers and loved ones. The storytellers share their experience of stigma or discrimination experienced as families assisting their loved one to navigate complex systems, as well their own healing journey.

Roles we play

This video looks at the role families play in caring for people living with mental health, substance use, and criminal justice involvement. A mother, daughter, and sister describe the importance of family in supporting their loved ones’ healing. The storytellers share their struggles with guilt, anger, and worry, and how stigma affects their roles.  

Redefining Trust and Identity

This video covers navigating trust and the loss of identity. Culture and connection are often the first to go, when mental health and substance use challenges overtake one’s identity. The family storytellers share how they redefined trust and shifted their perspectives of their loved ones. They discuss how and why their loved ones’ cultural identity changed or was lost. Applying empathy, humility, and acceptance to their loved ones’ conditions facilitated healing within the family. Reclaiming identity is medicine and integral as part of one’s healing. 

Navigating the Health Care System

This video looks into the insights, pains, and hopes of family caregivers as they navigate the health care system for their loved ones. It highlights the impact that health care providers can have in fostering meaningful partnerships and reducing stigma. The family storytellers speak on the importance of health care being centered in relationship.