Mental Health: Raising Awareness, Reducing Stigma
Town Hall Panel Speakers
Dr. Ruth Wilson
Panel Speaker: Early Intervention
Dr. Wilson is Vice-President of Medical and Academic Programs and a professor of
family medicine at Queen’s University, where she was Chair of the department for
ten years. Dr. Wilson is currently the Associate Director of Health Policy at the
College of Family Physicians of Canada and outgoing Chair of the Canadian Medical
Forum, a roundtable of CEOs and presidents of Canada’s major medical
organizations. From 2001-2004, she served as Chair of the Ontario Family Health
Network, a provincial government agency created to implement primary care
reform in Ontario. This effort laid the groundwork for the widespread primary care models in Ontario
including Family Health Teams. She is the current Chair of the Institute for Safe Medication Practice.
Dr. Wilson’s practice as a family physician includes eleven years in remote communities in Canada, and
twenty-three years in Kingston, Ontario. Her international experience includes helping establish family
medicine in the immediate post-conflict situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 2010 Dr. Wilson was named
one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women.
Dr. Roumen Milev
Panel Speaker: Early Intervention
Dr. Milev is the Head of the Department of Psychiatry of Providence Care, Hotel
Dieu Hospital, KGH and Queen’s. He is actively involved in research with patients
with Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, and other Affective
Disorders. Main areas of his research include issues of Stigma and ways of dealing
with it, sleep architecture, psychopharmacological and rTMS treatments.
Dr. Milev has many publications and significant teaching experience. He lead
workshops and panel discussions and has presented numerous lectures to
Psychiatrists, Family Physicians and other health professionals. Dr. Milev is involved actively in both
undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, including supervision of masters and PhD students. He has
been involved with CANMAT guidelines for management of patients with Bipolar Disorders, and with
Depression. He has won several prizes and awards.
Dr. Michael Condra
Panel Speaker: Mental Health and the Classroom
Dr. Condra is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Psychology and
Psychiatry and Director of the Department of Health, Counselling and Disability
Services at Queen's University. He worked for ten years in the Department of
Psychology in Kingston General Hospital prior to joining Queen’s in 1992 as
Director of the Counselling Service. As well as providing counselling to students on
a wide range of personal issues, Dr. Condra has taught in the undergraduate and
graduate programmes in the Department of Psychology at Queen's and in the
faculties of Education and Law. He consults with the university’s senior
administration on issues involving mental health and lethality.
He has also developed the Queen’s University Crisis Intervention Institute, which provides training and
consultation on Crisis Intervention skills. As you will see, Dr. Condra is an experienced workshop
presenter on many topics, including the Assessment of Suicide Risk, Crisis-Intervention Skills, and Threat
Assessment in a university context, as well as a variety of mental health issues including Mental Health
First Aid. Over the last six years, Dr Condra has delivered workshops and training sessions on mental
health to more than 6,000 people. He is also the Principal Investigator for two projects on mental health
funded (total funding: $1.426M) under the provincial Mental Health Innovation Fund.
Heidi Penning
Panel Speaker: Mental Health and the Workplace
Heidi Penning is a mom to two teenagers, one of whom is on the autism
spectrum. She has been an advocate for her son and other individuals with
disabilities and their families for nearly 20 years. She brings with her first-hand
experience of the multi-layered and challenging process of gaining access to
appropriate education, healthcare, and community participation. Ms. Penning is
a Human Rights and Equity Advisor at Queen’s University where she is also
working on her PhD exploring social business as a vocational opportunity for
marginalized adults with disabilities. Committed to an inclusive community for
all, she volunteers her time as Chair of Kingston’s Accessibility Advisory
Committee and is a Mentor for the Administrative Justice Support Network.
Ben Gooch
Panel Speaker: Mental Health and the Workplace
Ben Gooch is a Program Manager at Providence Care. Mr. Gooch is responsible
for creating jobs for people living with mental illness and is a dedicated
advocate for the principle that work is critical to recovery. Mr. Gooch manages
the Voices, Opportunities & Choices Employment Club (VOCEC) – a program
that operates businesses that together employ over 75 people living with
severe, persistent mental illnesses. Under his leadership, the VOCEC program
has doubled its revenues and job opportunities offered, while turning a profit
that is reinvested to create more jobs.
Mr. Gooch holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Toronto (B.B.A) and a
Master of Industrial Relations (M.I.R.) from Queen’s where he was awarded the Cameron Wood Prize for
most outstanding academic record. Recently, he was nominated by Providence Care as one of Ontario’s
20 Faces of Change for inspiring positive patient-centred change in Ontario’s health care system.
Amy Bjerkness
Moderator
Amy is a former Toronto Police Service officer with 13 years of experience. A
graduate of Justice Studies from the University of Guelph-Humber, she now
teaches in the Police Foundations Program at St. Lawrence College and is the
sole-proprietor of Police Test Tutor. In her spare time, Amy enjoys spending
time with her family, especially her energetic 2 year old boy.
Mental Health: Raising Awareness, Reducing Stigma
Town Hall Community Partners
Mental Health Services
Providence Care
752 King Street West
Kingston, K7L 4X3
Front desk: 613-546-1101
Auto: 613-548-5567
[email protected]
www.providencecare.ca
Intensive Transitional Treatment Program
Kingston General Hospital
Burr Wing 4
76 Stuart Street
Kingston, K7L 2V7
613-548-3232
Toll-Free: 1-800-567-5722
Emergency (open 24 hours): 613
548-2333
www.kgh.on.ca
Addiction & Mental Health Services – Kingston, Frontenac,
Lennox & Addington (formerly FCMHAS)
385 Princess Street
Kingston, K7L 1B9
613-544-1356
Admin: 613-544-5804
[email protected]
www.amhs-kfla.ca
Peer Support South East Ontario - Kingston
Peer Support Centre
60 Queen Street
Kingston, K7K 5W7
613-549-4964
[email protected]
www.psseo.ca
Canadian Mental Health Association – Kingston Branch
CMHA – Kingston Branch
400 Elliott Avenue, Unit 3
Kingston, K7K 6M9
613-549-7027
[email protected]
www.kingston.org/cmha
Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board
151 Dairy Avenue
Napanee, K7R 4B2
613-354-2255
[email protected]
www.alcdsb.on.ca
Voices Opportunities & Choices Employment Club
Providence Care
525 Montreal Street
Kingston, K7K 3H9
613-531-4912
Toll Free: 1-888-501-4912
Website: www.vocec.com
Kingston Community Health Centres
263 Weller Avenue
Kingston, K7K 2V4
613-542-2949
[email protected]
www.kchc.ca
Limestone District School Board
Postal Bag 610
220 Portsmouth Avenue
Kingston, K7L 4X4
613-544-6920
Toll-Free: 1-800-267-0935
[email protected]
www.limestone.on.ca
Kingston Police Forces
Kingston Police Forces
705 Division Street
Kingston, K7K 4C2
Non-Emergency Telephone: 613549-4660
www.kpf.ca
Pathways for Children and Youth
Kingslake Plaza
215-1201 Division Street
Kingston, K7K 6X4
613-546-8535
For emergencies after 4:30 p.m.
and weekends:
613-544-4229
www.pathwayschildrenyouth.org