They live precariously in cardboard shacks in Toronto's ravines. Others wander Bay St. arguing with imaginary stock brokers and lawyers.
They are the most visible face of a disgraceful statistic. Two in three Canadians who need mental health services do not get them.
Less visible, but no less important, are the troubled children unable to stay in school, the adults who cannot keep or even get a job and those who crowd into hospital emergency wards.
It is a welcome development, then, that Ontario has finally started work on a comprehensive mental health and addictions strategy.
An all-party committee has begun public hearings that will run until September. It is scheduled to report its findings next spring.
The committee's mandate is a broad one, including: examining existing services and determining the real need; exploring innovative solutions; and focusing on the continuum of services through the health, justice, education, housing and social service sectors.
We hope this strong mandate translates into strong action.
Canadian investment in mental health and addiction lags behind other developed countries. In Canada, Ontario's per capita spending falls below the national average, according to a study published last year.
Last week, Paul Garfinkel, president and CEO of Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), expressed views that should set the committee on the right path.
He noted that funding is woefully inadequate and that the stigma of mental illness, which can be as debilitating as the disease itself, remains a significant barrier to ensuring proper treatment.
Status quo is simply not an option – not for those who need the help and not for our health care system. If the province does not improve the lives of those suffering from mental illnesses, it will not be able to meet its other health care objectives, including reducing emergency room wait times and expensive hospital stays.
The provincial auditor general reported just last year that half the people in hospitals with mental illness could be released if only community supports were available.
This is key. A comprehensive mental health strategy requires more than just better and more accessible health care. Beyond the hospital walls, there must be teachers who understand, employers willing to hire, and suitable housing with the necessary supports.
It is not possible to treat a person's mental illness properly while he or she calls a street corner home.
2 comments:
Great post. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr: "I have a dream..." that one day, people of all ages, nationalities, creeds, and sexual orientation will band together to erradicate the stigma of mental illness and treat those who suffer from the disease with as much love, respect, and dedication as those who fight cancer and heart disease. I pray that our homeless and suicide rates throughout the world disintegrate as a direct result of more and more people getting diagnosed and treated with appropriate and affordable medications and therapies.
AMEN! And may all people have the great benefit of Single Payer Healthcare so they do not hestate to get treatment for financial reasons.
Thanks "MedicatedMany" your words were powerful!
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