Vancouver / Richmond Mental Health
Network Constitution

Purposes of the Network

We, the members of the Vancouver / Richmond mental Health Network are committed to using our common experiences of the mental health system as a base from which to support and help each other. We aspire to be nurturing, non-violent, patient, and caring.

Purpose of Vancouver / Richmond Mental health Network

1. To network among members, through peer counseling, support, referral and information sharing, with a view to empowering individual consumers and creating a vital, cohesive community of mental health consumers
2. To include in that mental health community the several diverse communities in the Network's region, by reaching out and reflecting the views, value, and visions of those communities
3. To liase with other groups in the province of BC, across Canada and internationally to help create a network for information exchange, which will eventually benefit mental health consumers
4. To continually advocate for a more integrated, holistic mental health system by encouraging the development of programs and treatments that truly reflect the needs of consumers, by opposing programs and treatments that violate consumers' human rights and other standards of fairness and safety, and by acting as a voice through which consumers can channel their complaints against the system
5. To encourage consumers to become less dependent on the mental health system by educating them about their rights, by sharing information about the availability of alternative programs and treatments, and by supporting the recovery efforts of those who have used the system
6. To work towards the abolition of stigma, discrimination, poverty, homelessness, and other forms of marginalization among mental health consumers, by raising the awareness of members about these issues, by educating the general public and by mounting a continuing lobby against discriminatory and unfair practices and government legislation
7. To aid in the promotion and development of alternative mental health treatments, by educating members about such services and by referrals to such practitioners where appropriate; and by lobbying senior governments for inclusions of such services in the mental health funding system
8. To promote the employment aspirations of consumers and the maximum utilization of their abilities by providing counseling and referrals on training and employment opportunity and by promoting equality and fairness for consumers who are training and working in the wider community