About The Team
Fig:ment Magazine is managed by a small team of volunteers. Each of us came to this project via our own path, but we all share a common vision: supporting mental health through open dialogue mental illness, neurodiversity, and the mind in the body.
Bevan Thomas
As someone who has struggled with mental health issues all his life, I know the pain of carrying things inside when it feels like there's no one who could ever understand. I also know the relief of discovering that other people are coping with the same thing, that sometimes they're just like me. Magazines such as Fig:ment need to exist because the more we discuss mental health issues, the more we understand them, and so the more we can treat ourselves and others with the empathy we need. More importantly, magazines such as Fig:ment remind all of us who struggle that we are not alone. https://bevanthomas.ca/
Lenore Rowntree
I am a BC writer who wanted to help create Fig:ment Magazine as a way to lift the veil of mystery around mental illness and to begin to take the stigma away from mental health issues. A magazine showcasing and celebrating the diversity in the mental health community (which let’s face it is all of us) is a fantastic idea.
We’re in this together.
Ray Hsu
Hey, I'm Ray. I'm a poet as well as co-founder of Phare, which matches folks to therapists for affordable counselling with no waitlist. I helped start Fig:ment because I saw the chance to create community at the intersection of creative writing and mental health. I believe that this magazine gives us the space to exist beyond the narrow confines of what gets to count as a "writer" carved off, as it almost always is, from what makes us fully "human." https://www.pharecounselling.com/
Finn Groves
Hi there, I'm Finn! I came to Fig:ment through a perhaps unusual path. Rather than a background in writing or art, I've always been drawn to the idea of entrepreneurship. Not "Big E" Entrepreneurship, the kind that amasses obscene wealth for a handful of individuals, but rather grassroots entrepreneurship, the kind that builds community. I think what I find so alluring about this mode of operating in the world is the ability to make something that is truly one's own. As part of Fig:ment, I've seen how artistic expression can hold the same benefit, if given the chance. My goal here is to help cultivate a space where individuals are free to create their own narratives as a deliberate expression of the self.
Isha Simpson
I am deeply passionate about participating in projects like this, as a result of my experiences growing up in care. I am determined to use my skills in social media to assist this magazine, with the ultimate goal of providing a platform for those who feel they lack a voice.
