Mental Health Challenges in Guelph and Area.
Dear Friends, I have received countless emails that are similar to what appears below. The sheer volume of these does not permit me to answer each separately. I have therefore prepared a response I am posting to my Re-Election Facebook Site and here.
Quoting:
Hello,
As you know, Guelph and Wellington County are in a mental health crisis, affecting individuals of all ages and their families.
The current mental health crisis in our community has caused an immense strain on the mental health care system in our community, making it difficult for individuals to access the services and support they need.
With 3,678 people waiting for ongoing mental health and addictions care in Waterloo Wellington and four out of five youth struggling with their mental health, it is clear we are in a mental health crisis. It is time to #GetReal.
Before I can cast my ballot on Election Day, I want to know where my community representatives stand on matters of mental health and wellness, and what actions will be taken to address the current crisis across our community.
The future of our community relies on the wellbeing of all individuals. With the demand for mental health and wellness services and support for all ages increasing significantly since 2020, ensuring access to life saving mental health and wellness services must be a priority.
With this in mind, I will be voting for the candidate who will prioritize mental health and wellness in our community and ensure mental health is an integral part of the conversation.
I look forward to hearing from you and learning more about your plan to #GetReal about the mental health crisis in our community.
Thank you,
RESPONSE:
Dear Constituents:
Thank you for caring about the current Mental Health, Homelessness Addictions, and Health Care Crisis we face. Guelph is truly challenged when addressing these concerns. I admit I do not have all the answers. I admit I need to learn more.
I can state without equivocation my approach to these concerns:
I support and encourage enhancing our Welcoming Streets Initiatives Downtown which offers kindness and a helping hand to those on the streets;
I currently serve on the Board of Stonehenge Therapeutic Community. Stonehenge focuses on addiction treatment in a residential setting. We believe every individual has the capacity to thrive and should be given the resources to do so;
I believe the City Council should advocate for enhancing the Canada Health Act to address Mental Health in a more effective way than just offering mainly pills and which has limited support for those in crisis.
Our Mental Health is strongly attached to our financial and material conditions. Anti-poverty initiatives are often the best medicine;
Community-oriented programs which give partners and kids opportunities to get away from conflict-laden households must ensure that there is support available when people need it, including immediate support for people who are suicidal, in danger of drug overdose, or suffering a psychotic or manic episode – the city can and must support these;
I also advocate for more support for mental health initiatives for school-aged youth. Direct experience with tragedies in the past convinces me we need to do more to address mental health and drug dependency issues in adolescence. Furthermore, we need to expand support for people with challenges that are often identified in childhood and can influence adult life experiences.
I support safe injection sites and decriminalizing simple possession and addiction of dangerous drugs. No one wanted to grow up an addict or opiate dependent. No one put it on their career or life goals while a teenager.
Addiction is a symptom; using addictive substances must be recognized as a dangerous self-medicating activity, not as a crime. We all want to see harmful drugs removed from our society. To get people off harmful drugs requires a revolution in how we approach mental illness, homelessness, addiction and health care. Jailing those with a substance dependency is ineffective in solving the real issues: poverty, alienation, and self-harm.
Hats off to Noah Irvine for his continued campaign to address Mental Health issues and how they can affect every one of us.
READ –
‘This isn’t a story, it’s my life’: Guelph mental health champion Noah Irvine releases book
