Amy Willans
From the ice to the page: A story of hope
Amy Willans is an award-winning mental health advocate, and was the first Peer Support Worker on an Alberta Health Services (AHS) Addiction and Mental Health clinical team. She is currently a Community Education Presenter and Peer Support Worker for the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta (SSA). Amy is the author of Haunted by Blue (The Rasp and The Wine, 2014), and her written work has been published in The Globe and Mail, and various journals and anthologies. She is a past participant in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate program at the University of Iowa; and has been a guest on CBC’s White Coat, Black Art; Global News and Bell Media.
My Sessions
From the ice to the page: A story of hope
Churchill BallroomPLENARY Amy Willans Sometimes we don’t get to choose the path life will take us. At 22, I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. I lost my friends, my chance at education, my spot on the Canadian Precision Skating Team. I lost everything. And the reality of the stigma surrounding mental illness became very clear. In […]