John Ackermann

5 days ago | vancouver.citynews.ca | John Ackermann

Eve Lazarus of North Vancouver has made a career out of highlighting the hidden histories that are all around us in books like Vancouver Exposed and Cold Case BC. Her latest title - Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Island Shipwreck - follows that tradition and is perhaps her most ambitious work to date. The May 1914 sinking of the Empress of Ireland in the mouth of the St. Lawrence River is still the worst peacetime maritime disaster in Canadian history.

1 week ago | johnackermann.substack.com | John Ackermann

Every year, the Coast Mental Health Courage To Come Back Awards recognize a group of extraordinary British Columbians in four categories: Addiction, Medical, Mental Health, and Young Adult. The awards, usually a sold-out gala at the Vancouver Convention Centre, raise critical funds for the Coast Mental Health Foundation. Writing these profiles and getting to interview these amazing people is an honour and a privilege and some of the most satisfying work I get to do.

1 week ago | vancouver.citynews.ca | John Ackermann |Charlie Carey

His experiences in the health-care system made him want to advocate for others. Now, he is studying to be a medical doctor. Omar Bseiso of Vancouver is the 2025 Courage To Come Back Award recipient in the Young Adult category. Bseiso was raised by a single mother, displaced by Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and forced to flee to Syria as a refugee. "In Kuwait, she was a dentist. In Canada, that education was not recognized.

1 week ago | vancouver.citynews.ca | John Ackermann

He was a wildly successful tech entrepreneur with a secret - he couldn't read. David Chalk of Burnaby is the 2025 Courage To Come Back Award recipient in the Mental Health category. Chalk says he had a happy-go-lucky childhood until his first day of Grade 1. "The teacher wanted me to come to the front of the class and read, and I froze, and that was really it for the next 12 years. I realized that I could not read, especially in front of the class," he explained. That was only the beginning.

1 week ago | vancouver.citynews.ca | John Ackermann

He went from smoking crack cocaine at age 17 to becoming a full-blown drug addict by his 20s. Stan Price of Surrey is the Courage To Come Back Award recipient in the Addiction category. Price was born and raised on Vancouver Island. His mother was 16 when he was born, and he admits he didn't have a lot of stability growing up. "There was a lot of substance use in the house, and a lot of drinking," he said.