'Suffering for years': Advocates call on B.C. to improve health supports for adults with eating disorders
A Vancouver Island advocacy group is calling on the B.C. government for better access to safe and timely supports for adults with eating disorders.
Members of Vancouver Island Voices for Eating Disorders (VIVED) held a rally at the B.C. Legislature on Tuesday afternoon, marking the last day of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week for 2023.
"The theme this year is 'transforming asks into action.' For us, that really meant it was important to go public and to be demanding action from our health authorities and from our ministries," said VIVED member Celeste Macevicius.
"We’re really asking for better engagement of people with lived and living experience with eating disorders to be involved," she said.
"We’ve been trying. We write policy briefs and we try to set up meetings and we keep getting excluded or dismissed."
VIVED is calling on the province for more funding and education, to create community support groups, and to fund team-based treatment options that would include dietitians, counsellors and general practitioners.
The group says eating disorders have the second highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness in B.C., and that waiting for adequate treatment is costing people their lives.
"And there’s many more who are suffering for years who have had to quit their jobs, who have had to quit their community commitments, who are leaving their families," said Macevicius.
"One of my closest friends waited three months for a bed. She’s on palliative care right now and suffering to such a high degree that would not have been necessary if there had just been adequate, safe and accessible services for her," she said.
At Tuesday’s rally, members of VIVED displayed 20 painted rocks in memory of loved ones who died of eating disorders before the age of 60.
The group says it will keep holding rallies and writing policy briefs to put pressure on the province for change.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion, 1 person seriously injured: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.