Vancouver Island Voices for Eating Disorders - VIVED

06/01/2026

Registration is open! Join VIVED and Sandi Smoker for a free one-hour online art therapy workshop on the topic of grief and living loss to support our community on World Eating Disorders Action Day (WEDAD) observed on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Date: Tuesday June 2, 2026
Time: 12 - 1 PM PST
Where: Online (via Zoom)

We are providing this creative space to heal and connect in a safe and inclusive environment. Anyone with lived and living experience of disordered eating or eating disorders is invited to join. A VIVED peer support facilitator will be available to anyone who may need extra support during the session.

Event details: https://vancouverislandvoicesforeatingdisorders.com/events/
Registration form: https://forms.gle/rQGibrhi3iArbabA8
Link available in our Linktree listed in our bio.

Mending a Narrative: Reclaiming Life Story Through Grief and Bereavement

We will explore the unattended sorrows and grief associated with eating disorder losses and how art-making can support us in reclaiming our story. What part of your narrative feels open to mend?

Group Process:

- Brief guided meditation
- Hands-on, art-based activity
- Group reflection
- Option to share in small groups
- Closing poem

Sandi is a registered counsellor, art therapist, and spiritual care practitioner residing on the unceded traditional territories of the Hul’qumi’num and SENĆOŦEN-speaking (Coast Salish) peoples known colonially as the Southern Gulf Islands, off the West Coast of Canada. Painting by Sandi Smoker.

World ED Action Day is a grassroots movement led by a global coalition passionate about changing the narrative around eating disorders. Every year on June 2nd, activists across the globe unite to raise awareness, inspire action, and advocate for systemic change. Eating disorders impact over 70 million people worldwide yet remain deeply misunderstood and underfunded.

05/26/2026

Registration is now open! Join VIVED and Sandi Smoker for a free one-hour online art therapy workshop on the topic of grief and living loss to support our community on World Eating Disorders Action Day (WEDAD) observed on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Date: Tuesday June 2, 2026
Time: 12 - 1 PM PST
Where: Online (via Zoom)

We are providing this creative space to heal and connect in a safe and inclusive environment. Anyone with lived and living experience of disordered eating or eating disorders is invited to join. A VIVED peer support facilitator will be available to anyone who may need extra support during the session.

Event details: https://vancouverislandvoicesforeatingdisorders.com/events/
Registration form: https://forms.gle/rQGibrhi3iArbabA8
Link available in our Linktree listed in our bio.

Mending a Narrative: Reclaiming Life Story Through Grief and Bereavement

We will explore the unattended sorrows and grief associated with eating disorder losses and how art-making can support us in reclaiming our story. What part of your narrative feels open to mend?

Group Process:

- Brief guided meditation
- Hands-on, art-based activity
- Group reflection
- Option to share in small groups
- Closing poem

Sandi is a registered counsellor, art therapist, and spiritual care practitioner residing on the unceded traditional territories of the Hul'qumi'num and SENĆOŦEN-speaking (Coast Salish) peoples known colonially as the Southern Gulf Islands, off the West Coast of Canada. Painting by Sandi Smoker.

World ED Action Day is a grassroots movement led by a global coalition passionate about changing the narrative around eating disorders. Every year on June 2nd, activists across the globe unite to raise awareness, inspire action, and advocate for systemic change. Eating disorders impact over 70 million people worldwide yet remain deeply misunderstood and underfunded.

05/12/2026

A harm reduction focus for eating disorders is an APPROACH to treatment; NOT the lack of it.

Harm reduction approaches still involve working with individuals to set goals that are:
• Meaningful to them
• Allow the individual and clinician to focus on what someone’s key quality-of-life components are
• May shift over time and circumstance

Harm reduction approaches ARE NOT necessarily passive; they may still involve various levels of care, agreed upon interventions, and actively working together.

(Photography by )

05/08/2026

May 2026 - Monthly Reading Recommendation

You are Made of Medicine: A mental health peer support manual by Native Sexual Health Centre for Indigiqueer and Two-Spirit Youth

This resource covers “tips, strategies, and resources to manage mental health and wellness.” Touching on topics including trauma, colonialism, the importance of language, harm reduction, traditional & ceremonial supports, as well as various resources.

Follow the QR code on slide 4 to access this free, online resource.

05/08/2026

05/03/2026

Our team is really excited to announce that we are working to put together a free art-therapy workshop led by the wonderful ✨

This one hour workshop will take place on June 2nd, 2026 - also known as World Eating Disorders Action Day (WEDAD).

This event will be on Zoom and is open to everyone.

Stay tuned for details on what kind of art supplies might be ideal to bring and how to register for this event.

WEDAD is an annual event intended to encourage creating meaningful action from policy change to healthcare delivery - there is so much in the world of treating EDs that needs to be changed. How is your organization participating in creating change for individuals living with these conditions? What will you commit to? What will you lead in your community? How will you celebrate that we are still here and still fighting?

VIVED wanted to create a healing space on this day, because without tending to our own well-being - finding joy and connection and creativity - we cannot continue this work.

Join us 🤍

04/29/2026

Two upcoming groups being offered through Allies Integrated Health in Victoria, BC.

See posters for details and contact information.

04/19/2026

Our April 2026 reading recommendation is here!

This book is catered to a clinician audience; however, it provides a great deal of insight for individuals seeking to better understand their experiences of trauma (and how it can impact the body.)

Rothschild provides clinical examples of how to approach pacing trauma work in a way that avoids re-traumatization for the patient/client. These examples also provide a clearer picture of what safe trauma work should look like for individuals who have experienced trauma.

Let us know what you think!

04/10/2026

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello and participate 💜

Here are the answers to the questions we received at the 3rd Annual Victoria High School Wellness Fair, the final result from the interactive art display, and the things that youth want policy makers to know about EDs.

04/09/2026

Our team was grateful to be a part of the Third Annual Victoria High Wellness Fair. Thank you to the wonderful student and staff organizers who made today possible.

In the next couple of days we will put out the final result of some of the interactive displays we had at our table, as well as answer some of the questions we received at the event.