See Me, Not My Illness is more than just the name of the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta (SSA’s) 2019 Fundraising Campaign Kickoff.

See Me, Not My Illness is representative of the wish of approximately 42,000 Albertans living with schizophrenia who want to see an end to the stigma and discrimination they encounter in finding employment, housing and other aspects of daily life.

Our Speakers:

Clint Malarchuk- for many hockey fans, the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of Clint’s name is the shocking accident from 1989. While goal tending for the Buffalo Sabres, a collision with another player led to a skate blade slicing Clint’s neck, severing his carotid artery. While such an incident would be traumatic for anyone, what most people don’t realize is that Clint had suffered from mental illness long before the accident. As a child, he struggled with undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Today, Clint has found a number of different ways to take action when it comes to his mental health. Making a difference for others has been one of Clint’s main focuses over the past several years. Clint will share his extraordinary and heart-wrenching life story in an effort to help us end the stigma of mental illness and to help others who may be affected as well.

Lauren- is a mental health advocate who created the YouTube channel Living Well With Schizophrenia in 2018. This channel has 15,000+ subscribers and is intended to be a resource for people with the diagnosis, their loved ones, and for people who just want to learn more about the illness. Lauren, is also one of our Community Education Presenters and is the face for our 2019 Fundraising Campaign!