Tita Angangco’s talk will center on the application of mindfulness to mental health challenges among marginalized individuals. Mindfulness based interventions have been shown in numerous research studies to be effective in the alleviation of mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. These interventions, however, are not readily accessible to marginalized populations where the prevalence of mental health issues is 2 to 3 times that of the mainstream population. The Centre for Mindfulness Studies has been working for the past four years with social service agencies to bring these interventions to their staff and client groups.
Tita Angangco is a Founder and the Executive Director of The Centre for Mindfulness Studies, a charity whose mission is to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of individuals and communities through the development, delivery, training and research of mindfulness-based therapies, and to make these therapies available and accessible to disadvantaged and marginalized populations who disproportionately suffer poor health.Tita Angangco has worked with the Ontario Public sector for many years as a senior manager in several ministries, including the Ministries of Health and Housing and Management Board Secretariat. She has been an active volunteer in the area of social housing, having organized the funding and development of two not-for-profit housing developments in the GTA. She was Chair of the Homes First Society, from 1995 to 2001, where she stabilized the the operational and financial standing of the organization and created the Homes First Foundation, a fund-raising agency arm of the Society. Since then, she has been involved in several volunteer start-up ventures. She has received extensive training in mindfulness, Buddhist psychology and yoga.