Lots to See and Do during Mental Health Awareness Week at Osgoode October 26-29

Chair in window

The programming from October 26-29 brings attention to mental health issues both within the Osgoode community and further afield within our society. Here’s a rundown of the offerings:

Monday – Oct 26 – PLAY!

  • Recess: Visit Helliwell IKB 1014 between 10am-4pm for fun and play. Jump on the inflatable Army Bouncer, jump rope, and play games. SNACKS provided! Brought to you by the Osgoode Peer Support Centre and Legal & Lit.
  • Abracadabra! Pull your head out from the books and enjoy magical entertainment brought to you by the Osgoode Mental Health Law Society. 10am-12:30pm Gowlings Hall.
  • Yarnstorm: Visit the knitted art piece created by Osgoode’s Stitch N’Bitch Society symbolizing the destigmatization of mental illness. All day/Gowlings Hall.
  • The Litigator and the Litigant: Managing Mental Health Issues on all Sides of the File. This session will explore the most common mental health issues that arise for litigators due to the stress of litigation. It will also explore how the mental health of your client and the opposing party impacts on your mental health and your practice. Presenter: Salima Samnani, Vancouver-based lawyer. 12:30-1:30pm Room IKB 1008.

Tuesday – Oct 27 – RECOGNIZE!

  • Thriving in Law – Strategies of Survival and Subversiveness: Join Osgoode’s three McMurtry Fellows, Mary Eberts, Joanna Radbord, and Roger Rowe, along with a recent Osgoode alum, Douglas Judson, for a discussion of how to preserve one’s mental health when you identifyas outside the dominant majority of practicing lawyers, either by gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or ideology. How does one address real or perceived discrimination within the practice of law? How can we “be ourselves” within a culture of law that is sometimes slower to become more progressive? How can we define success on our own terms? 12:30-2:30pm Helliwell IKB 1014. SNACKS provided!

Wednesday – Oct 28 – ENGAGE!

  • Play Reading, Panel, and Lunch: Be witness to the reading of the play Thistlepatch, by last year’s artist in residence Catherine Frid. Learn about the death of Norma Lee Dean, a 14-year-old mentally ill girl who died by suicide in an Ontario institution in 1976. With parallels to Ashley Smith’s more recent, and also tragic, death, a panel discussion on the topic of the mental health of institutionalized youth will convene after the play’s reading. Confirmed panel participants include former children’s court judgeThomson and Dr. Flora Danzinger, a retired child psychologist. The play will be read by professional actors from the Actors’ Equity union. A LUNCH will be sponsored for attendees to the event by the Dean. Please RSVP at osgoode.yorku.ca/events

Thursday – Oct 29 – NOURISH/INQUIRE/RELAX!

  • Capacity and Substitute Decision Making: Join guest speaker Ed Montigny, staff lawyer at ARCH Disability Law Centre for an inquiry into the concept of Capacity and Substitute Decision Making for people with debilitating mental illness. The presentation will discuss: What rights do you have to make decisions? When does the law allow another person to make decisions for you? Can you control who makes decisions on your behalf? (if this becomes necessary) What can you do to ensure that decisions made on your behalf reflect your wishes? 12:30pm-2:00pm Helliwell IKB 1014. Brought to you by the Osgoode Mental Health Law Society. LUNCH  provided!
  • Find Your Inner Conflict Animal with the Osgoode Mediation Clinic: OMC invites students to take a photo pledge illustrating their particular conflict resolution style. Students can assess their conflict style themselves, or choose to complete a short conflict management style quiz. There are five conflict animals to choose from: The Accommodating Teddy Bear, The Avoiding Turtle, The Collaborating Owl, The Competing Shark, and The Compromising Fox. Students who participate will receive information and tips on positively navigating their particular style. Photo pledges will be posted on OMC’s Facebook page, and students are invited to tag themselves and their friends. 10:30am-2:30pm Gowlings Hall.