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Lunch and Learn: Family and Caregiver Experience within the Mental Health System
October 16, 2017 @ 12:00 pm - 1:20 pm
Monday, October 16, 2017
12:00-1:20 pm
Room 548
This lunch time discussion will include mental health system attitude and rules, its impact on families, and history; family lived experiences, negative and positive; perspective on vital role of the social worker in helping families navigate the system and promote communication; and Family Guidelines of the Mental Health Commission.
Please bring your own lunch. Registration not necessary.
Maria Lorenzoni is a retired Adult ESL instructor with 25 years experience with the Toronto District School Board Continuing Education Department. She is also a caregiver to a son with mental illness. She was born in Italy, grew up in New York City and has lived in Toronto for 40 years with her husband and two children, currently in Vaughan. Maria has worked as a volunteer in the past with a mental health group serving the Italian community. This experience, as well as her own lived experience as a caregiver, has motivated her to be involved to find strategies to improve the lives of mental health individuals, especially in terms of housing and public awareness. She has been participating in the initiatives of Home on the Hill for a few years.
Kathleen Mochnacki BA (Psychology), BSW, MSW, RSW is a family caregiver of a son with serious mental illness. Recently, she completed a Diploma in Social Service Administration at the faculty. She is President of Home on the Hill Supportive Housing, a family driven organization committed to developing supportive housing for those with serious mental illness and family support and respite services. This organization runs a successful lecture series where well regarded psychiatrists, GP psychotherapists, psychologists and other professionals give educational lectures about serious mental illness.