Our Turn
In November 1989 three Canadian Mental Health Society (CMHA) Clubhouse members were selected to attend Canadas first Mental Health Consumer Conference in Montreal called “Our Turn”.
All of us having had negative experience with the psychiatric system decided we did not want to be called “consumers” and instead coined the term “psychiatric survivor”, forming the Ontario Psychiatric Survivors Alliance (OPSA).
We met after the conference to discuss starting our own unique organization and began recruiting other individuals living with mental illness. We became OPSA’s first chapter in December 1990 with the philosophy to be a membership driven agency & allow for input from those individuals. Our goals were to advocate & educate while providing peer support and reducing social isolation/alienation.
We held our meetings in an apartment until Alpha Court generously offered us a vacant space. In 1991 we received one-time funding through the Ministry & had CMHA as our sponsoring agency; the communities support was unbelievable. In 1992 we were given continued funding & chose the very suiting name of People Advocating for Change through Empowerment.
On February 7th, 1994 we became incorporated, no longer needed a sponsor and elected our first Board of Directors.
P.A.C.E. has expanded beyond our offices to offer peer support within the TBRHSC Adult Mental Health unit as well as at the three Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine (RAAM)