Letter to the Editor
St. Thomas Times Journal
May 7, 2002
Marking Mental Health Week
Mental Health Week will be celebrated from May 6-12, 2002 with the theme, Emerging into Light. During Mental Health Week we must as a community focus our energies on improving the quality of life and opportunities of all individuals with mental illness and send a message of hope and inclusion to the community at large. Several strategies will need to be employed if the goal of acceptance and inclusion is to be realized.
Perhaps the first step that needs to be taken to accomplish this goal is to make sure that individuals with mental illness don't live in poverty, that they have access to real and meaningful employment, educational, recreational and social opportunities and that they have access to safe and affordable housing. This is only the start.
Second, the community will need to confront the stigma and lack of awareness that exists around mental illness, to challenge the discrimination that individuals with mental illness often encounter and to ensure that supports, services and treatment are available and accessible in every community.
Last of all, mental health reform must transform an overly protective, overburdened and paternalistic service delivery system into one that is client-centred. A reformed system must be one that has a "client first perspective", that recognizes the individual as an equal partner in the health care system, and that involves the individual in all decisions that affect their care, life and treatment. The individual must be able to retain responsibility for their own wellness and recovery and to have their decisions and choices respected. Anything less will mean that mental health reform has been a failure.
During Mental Health Week let's begin implementing the dream, restoring hope and demanding a reformed mental health system that is accountable and available to the people it is intended to serve. Together we can accomplish great things with and for all individuals with a mental illness.
Sincerely,
_____________________________
David Simpson
Patient Advocate
Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office
St. Thomas
