I choose:
greater investments for the mental health and addictions sector
Did you know?
Since 2016 the government has provided $132 billion for the acute care sector versus $7 billion for community mental health and addictions.
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Recent polls show that one in four people (24 per cent) have sought help for their mental health challenges during the pandemic.
Nearly 80 percent feel that Ontario is on track for a serious mental health crisis when the pandemic ends.
It’s clear that many Ontarians are weary and struggling. But at the same time, the dedicated service providers in the community mental health and addictions sector are at capacity. Without a substantial base funding increase, wait times will only grow longer and services will be less available. CMHA branches will continue to lose talented front-line staff to high rates of stress and burnout and better paying jobs elsewhere in the health sector.
“Most CMHA branches have not seen a base funding increase in the past 5-10 years, straining their ability to meet the increasing demand for their programs and services,” said Camille Quenneville, CEO, CMHA Ontario. “We need additional funding to support our clients, those in need of service and the people providing care.”
Each CMHA branch needs at least an eight per cent increase in base funding. A base budget increase will help CMHAs and other community-based providers address operating costs that increase annually, deliver more services, reduce wait times while tackling high rates of stress and burnout amongst frontline staff.
Most of the funding the community sector receives is program-focused and does nothing to help with operational costs that increase annually. Base funding allows community service providers the flexibility to cover rising operational costs such as inflation, salaries and other overhead.
