OUR MANDATE IS SIMPLE... Promote the social inclusion of persons with mental health disabilities by: Reducing social barriers that perpetuate a limited and negative perspective of what it means to have a mental illness disability; employing innovative, low-cost, high-impact strategies that educate and effectively shift attitudes and behaviours in populations; creating SMART and sustainable programs that reach target populations and create the conditions for social inclusion and support, leading to a better quality of life at school, at work, and within the community; and by connecting and collaborating with organizations to increase the impact of advocacy and promotional efforts for social inclusion, diversity, and mental health wellness in Canada and abroad. · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ACTIVITIES Iris the Dragon is a solutions-oriented, social enterprise, employing proven and effective approaches and delivery formats to address the challenge of social inclusion of those with a mental illness in our society. Iris the Dragon achieves this, nationally in Canada and globally, by correcting misunderstandings and misinformation about mental illness through the vehicle of storytelling and using therapeutic approaches, such as Solution Focused Therapeutic strategies (i.e. Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Narrative Therapy), to disseminate this vital knowledge. Our mental health education programs feature innovative delivery mechanisms focused on schools, the workplace, and the community. Our direction, historically, has been on "early age" education, detection and risk management of mental illness which can alleviate symptoms in addition to creating awareness around how to support individuals facing challenges. In 2017, Iris the Dragon progressed into workplace mental health education to advance its mandate to shape attitudes and behaviours with respect to social inclusion, diversity, and mental health wellness in Canada.
