Our Mission

To ensure that people and their families affected by mood disorders enjoy the fullest, most productive lives possible, within a healthy, stigma-free environment.

We must be the voice for Canadians dealing with mental illnesses and their families at the national decision making tables. We must influence the collection of data and its appropriate analysis. We must work within the health research system to have more funding directed to mental illness and mental health research. This research must be directed towards determining how to improve the mental health of all Canadians, the recovery from mental illnesses and the complete elimination of the stigma of mental illness from Canadian society. We must make Canadians from all walks of life more aware of the issues surrounding the high incidence rates of mental illness in Canada and the lack of attention that is paid both to mental illnesses as well as to the promotion of good mental health. We must let every member of our society know that recovery is possible from mental illness. We must let every member of society know that the epidemic of suicide in Canada must be confronted.

We must work collaboratively and in a non-confrontational manner with health care providers, governments at all levels, all national NGOs and other influencers to achieve our mission.

We must maintain strict controls on our expenses through the constant development of MDSC as a "virtual NGO" so that the vast majority of our funds are directed to the achievement of our mission.

About MOOD DISORDERS SOCIETY OF CANADA

The Mood Disorders Society of Canada (MDSC) is Canada's only national voice for Canadians suffering from depression, bipolar illness, anxiety and other mood disorders and their families and caregivers. We are a registered, not-for-profit organization able to issue charitable receipts. We are a national, volunteer-driven organization that is committed to improving the quality of life for people affected by depression, bipolar disorder and other related disorders. We provide a national voice for consumers and families to ensure their issues and concerns are understood and considered in the setting of research priorities, the development of treatment strategies and the creation of government

programs and policies related to mental illness.MDSC has acquired a reputation for leadership at the national level for consumer-focused research, both qualitative and quantitative. We have led the discussion on stigma and the issue of the lack of service availability and emergency room waits.