Ottawa Network for Borderline Personality Disorder Receives $10,000 Grant from the Ottawa Community Foundation to Build Capacity for Family Members of Loved Ones with Mental Illness

The Ottawa Network for Borderline Personality Disorder is excited to announce that the Ottawa Community Foundation has granted $10,000 to support the project "Enhancing Capacity for Family Members," which will significantly increase our ability to help families in the Ottawa region whose loved ones have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) also known as Emotion Dysregulation.

We are pleased to include this announcement as we recognize May as Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month.

"This grant from the Ottawa Community Foundation will significantly increase our ability to support more members of our community," notes Michèle Langlois, president of the Ottawa Network for Borderline Personality Disorder. "Borderline Personality Disorder, like most mental health issues, has a significant impact on families. By providing compassionate support and education to family members of people living with emotion dysregulation, we aim to improve relationships and wellness outcomes for all."

"We are proud to be able to support the Ottawa Network for Borderline Personality Disorder," says Marco Pagani, President and CEO of the Ottawa Community Foundation. “We recognize the valuable support that families can provide to loved ones who live with BPD.”

About the project “Enhancing Capacity for Family Members”

The project that has been funded by OCF will allow ON-BPD to action its strategic plan over the coming year to build capacity to deliver courses serving the community’s French speaking population, augment course resources, as well as to develop and deliver programming targeting the public to create greater awareness, transfer knowledge and develop skills for early identification of and more skillful responses to the BPD population's needs.

ON-BPD extends heartfelt gratitude to the Ottawa Community Foundation and looks forward to working together in partnership, to serve the community.

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About Borderline Personality Disorder (From NEABPD)

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness that centers on the inability to manage emotions effectively. The disorder occurs in the context of relationships: sometimes all relationships are affected, sometimes only one. It usually begins during adolescence or early adulthood.

While some people with BPD are high functioning in certain settings, their private lives may be in turmoil. Most people who have BPD suffer from problems regulating their emotions and thoughts, impulsive and sometimes reckless behavior, and unstable relationships

The diagnosis of BPD is frequently missed and a misdiagnosis of BPD has been shown to delay and/or prevent recovery. Bipolar disorder is one example of a misdiagnosis as it also includes mood instability. There are important differences between these conditions but both involve unstable moods. For the person with bipolar disorder, the mood changes exist for weeks or even months. The mood changes in BPD are much shorter and can even occur within the day.

Officially recognized in 1980 by the psychiatric community, BPD is more than two decades behind in research, treatment options, and family psycho-education compared to other major psychiatric disorders. BPD has historically met with widespread misunderstanding and blatant stigma. However, evidenced-based treatments have emerged over the past two decades bringing hope to those diagnosed with the disorder and their loved ones.

• BPD affects 5.9% of adults (about 14 million Americans) at some time in their life
• BPD affects 50% more people than Alzheimer’s disease and nearly as many as schizophrenia and bipolar combined (2.25%).
• BPD affects 20% of patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals
• BPD affects 10% of people in outpatient mental health treatment

About the Ottawa Network for Borderline Personality Disorder

ON-BPD is a volunteer-run charitable organization (Registered Charity Number: 829239474RR0001). The main objectives of the Ottawa Network for Borderline Personality Disorder (ON-BPD) are to educate and support relatives of people with BPD and to help family members develop skills for coping. This is done primarily through presenting, at no cost to participants, a 12-week Family Connections (FC) course that provides education, skills training, and support for people who have a relationship with someone with BPD.

Family Connections was developed by the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder (NEABPD) and is based on research funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. The course is recognized for its proven effectiveness and is now available in many locations across the US, in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Toronto, Canada and in 17 other countries around the world. The ON-BPD is connected to best practices and current developments through regular contact with the NEABPD.

Focusing on issues that are specific to BPD (Emotion Dysregulation), and noting that BPD often runs concurrently with other serious mental health conditions, Family Connections is hosted in a community setting and is led by trained, volunteer group leaders who are graduates of the FC course and are usually family members of relatives with BPD. Since ON-BPD’s inception, approximately 30 courses have been offered to approximately 400 family members of relatives with BPD in Ottawa and the surrounding area. For more information, visit www.on-bpd.ca.

About the Ottawa Community Foundation

Established in 1987, the Ottawa Community Foundation is a public, non-profit organization created by and for the people of Ottawa. Working directly with its community of donors, partners and stakeholders, the Foundation is committed to acting as a catalyst for positive, systemic and sustainable change in Ottawa and beyond. Priding itself on enabling generous citizens to enhance the quality of life in their community while achieving their own charitable objectives, the Foundation currently manages assets worth almost $130M, and has provided over $100M in grants to the community since its inception. For more information about the Ottawa Community Foundation, visit www.ocf-fco.ca

Media Queries

Ottawa Network for Borderline Personality Disorder
Wynn Anne Sibbald
Media Director
613-698-2255
wynnanne@on-bpd.ca