Letter to the Editor
The Peterborough Examiner
May 29, 2006
Mental Health Aid
RE: Boost for mental health (May 20th)
The Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office is pleased that the Ontario government continues to invest in community mental health services, to the benefit of individuals with mental illness, their families and our communities. The continued support and enhancement of a broad array of treatment, rehabilitation and support programs across Ontario is pivotal in assisting individuals with mental illness in their recovery and community re-integration.
We are supportive of any funding announcement that provides greater access to services and additional resources to assist individuals with mental illness in securing safe, decent and affordable housing; provides funding for crisis and early intervention; case management supports; provides for individuals to access a range of treatment modalities and assistance to keep people out of the criminal justice and correctional system. This announcement is good news for all who will come in contact with the mental health system in Ontario or wish to access individualized services and supports that will facilitate their recovery.
We would ask that the government now consider the importance of community-based advocacy and rights protection in the context of its clear commitment to mental health reform. While a full range of rights protection and advocacy services are currently provided in the current and former provincial psychiatric hospitals throughout Ontario, an expansion of these services into the community is sorely needed to keep pace with mental health reform.
Rights protection and advocacy services are integral components of a comprehensive, community-based mental health system; such services empower and assist consumers in addressing quality of care, life and rights-based issues arising from their treatment and rehabilitation, whether in hospital or community.
David Simpson
Acting Director
Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office
Toronto
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