For three decades the Sunshine Coast branch of the BC Schizophrenia Society (BCSS) has provided support, education and advocacy for families affected by all kinds of mental illness, and during the group’s 30th anniversary last week, the founding member was honoured.
Julie Skippon spearheaded the local group after moving to the Coast with her husband and five children, two of whom suffer from schizophrenia.
Over the years, the local group has helped hundreds of families find and access the support they need while constantly advocating for better supports and the lessening of stigma related to mental illness. Skippon has led the charge on all fronts.
“Julie’s a woman of amazing talents and intense commitment and dedication and hard work. She’s what has kept the Sunshine Coast branch alive all these years,” said BCSS member Marilyn Giesbrecht.
“She is a very exceptional woman.”
Giesbrecht said Skippon has always kept up to date with mental health research and has served on the provincial BCSS board for several years, while holding the president’s position with the local chapter for 25 years.
Her connection with the provincial BCSS program has enabled the Sunshine Coast branch to tap into many of the services that BCSS provides.
“The kinds of services and programs that Julie got going were things like the family to family education course,” Giesbrecht said. “Probably of all the things that BCSS does, the family education course is the most important and the most beneficial.”
Giesbrecht said the eight to 10-week course is offered every year on the Coast and it provides information on various mental illnesses, how to cope, how to interact with ill family members, how to get help if a family member doesn’t recognize they have an illness, how to advocate for them and how to generally reduce mental illness stigma in the community.
“The greatest strength of it is that it’s people in the same boat sharing, together,” Giesbrecht said.
The local BCSS chapter also offers other educational courses and a puppet show dedicated to breaking down stigma around mental illness that’s targeted to Grade 4 students.
In addition, the local chapter had a television show about mental illness that Skippon hosted on Coast Cable for several years, Giesbrecht said.
Giesbrecht also credits Skippon, in part, with helping get Arrowhead Centre set up on the Coast – a drop-in centre for those with mental illness.
“She was very big in advocating for a clubhouse or for a drop-in centre. For years and years and years she was trying to get that,” Giesbrecht said.
“I’m convinced her influence has had a part in that, even though it’s not come directly through our branch of BCSS, but she has advocated tirelessly through the years.”
During the Sunshine Coast BCSS 30th anniversary celebration on May 27, Skippon was presented with flowers as members reviewed her many accomplishments through the years, honouring her for her steadfast commitment to the cause.
Skippon said she was “blown away” by the recognition.
“I certainly won’t forget it. It was a real tribute. Much more than I deserve, I’m sure,” Skippon said.
Giesbrecht said getting the diagnosis of having a mental illness “hits everybody like a ton of bricks” and noted the local BCSS chapter and the support it offers to families has made a tremendous difference on the Coast.
To learn more about the local BCSS chapter, contact current president Donna Motzer at 604-885-9705.
