Ontario wants to make mental health services accessible throughout the province

From The Canadian Press:

TORONTO — Ontario wants to make mental health and addiction services accessible through the justice system, schools and other social services, the province's health minister said Tuesday.

David Caplan laid out the province's 10-year plan for mental health care in a discussion paper entitled "Every Door is the Right Door," which emphasizes prevention as well as proactive and ongoing treatment and a client-centred approach.

"Too often, mental health and addictions have not been given the spotlight that it should, so we can and we must do more," Caplan said.

Access to treatment shouldn't be restricted to just primary care, said Caplan, who also emphasized the need for people with mental illness or addiction to be active in their own recovery.

One in five people in Ontario suffers from a mental illness or substance abuse, while one in 10 is a problem gambler. Three out of 100 people grapple with complex, serious mental health issues, the minister said.

Abraham Lincoln described his own struggles with depression and put mental illness into perspective when he told a friend it was a misfortune, not a fault, Caplan said.

"We have all been touched by this kind of misfortune," said Caplan, who added society is ultimately judged by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens.

His words came before a crowd that included people with mental illness and addiction, primary care providers, school and court administrators, researchers, youth workers and government representatives.

Conservative health critic Elizabeth Witmer said while she is pleased the government has acknowledged the importance of mental health, much of the discussion paper recycles what has been said over the last decade.

The paper describes the government's intentions, she said, but gives no indication as to the process for getting there.

"There's no road map," said Witmer, who added the expansion of mental health services will require more financial and human resources than the government is prepared to supply.

"They're taking a baby step forward, but how are we going to expand the services and deliver the services that are so desperately needed?"

Witmer also questioned why the Liberal government did not build on reforms she said were already made by the former Conservative government. They are six years too late, she said.

Following Caplan's launch of the discussion paper, panelists described their struggles with addictions and mental illness. Betty-Lou Kristy of Georgetown, Ont., told her story and that of her only child, Peter (Kristy) Beattie, who died of a drug overdose in 2001.

Standing before the podium, Kristy described her childhood in a violent, alcoholic family as a "perfect nightmare."

Kristy said at 13 she escaped to foster and detention homes, but by age 20, she had found herself trapped in an abusive relationship. When Peter was two, she fled the situation.

While not physically abusive, she said her second husband inflicted mental and emotional pain that drove her to multiple addictions including alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and prescription barbiturates.

By 27, she suffered from a long list of illnesses, including anorexia, panic attacks, depression and acute anxiety.

Kristy said her turnaround came when she met a stable partner, a man who truly loved her and her nine-year-old son.

Over the years, her son's early struggles with learning affected his self-esteem, leading to depression, anxiety and panic attacks and eventually, hallucinations.

"He was boxed in and fighting for survival," she said.

Like his mother, Beattie tried to escape by using drugs and alcohol. He died at 25, two days before Christmas.

"We do not want to continue to bury our loved ones," Kristy said.