CMHA has been operating in Kamloops for the last 27 years (Image Credit: CFJC Today).

By Chad Klassen

NON-PROFIT SERIES

STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL: CMHA Kamloops

Aug 1, 2019 | 4:55 PM

KAMLOOPS — In part six of our series Struggle For Survival, we feature the Kamloops branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association. Mental health and wellness has come into the forefront in the last couple of years. People are becoming more aware of the importance of self care. But CMHA is much more than that, providing emergency shelter and housing for the homeless. Juggling all it offers is a struggle itself.

Christa Mullaly and Amy Baskin are the pillars of the Canadian Mental Health Assocation (CMHA) in Kamloops. They work together to ensure they can provide all the necessary programs people rely on.

“We see folks that are living in poverty. We see folks that are homless or in precarious housing situations,” said Mullaly, who’s the executive director at CMHA Kamloops. “And all of these types of societal issues and community issues that we experience here in Kamloops dramatically impact someone’s mental health.”

CMHA primarily deals with street-entrenched people. It runs the Emerald Centre on West Victoria Street, an emergency shelter that provides 55 beds. It also provides temporary housing for people.

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CMHA is also in the midst of building modular units on West Victoria for the homeless.

“We operate 15 affordable units here in Kamloops. We’re building 42 supportive housing units, permanent supportive in Kamloops for a population that will likely come from our shelter,” noted Mullaly.

Financially, this is all possible with a $3 million annual budget. The balancing act for Mullaly as the executive director is between stability and growth.

CMHA Kamloops executive director Christa Mullaly (left) and education coordinator Amy Baskin work together to bring services to the community (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

In addition, one challenge for CMHA Kamloops is maintaining aging facilities it owns. The biggest challenge, however, is a lack programming it can offer people.

“We’ve always struggled to do comprehensive and consistent health promotion and prevention planning,” said Mullaly. “And until we as a sector and service providers get ahead of that, we will continue to have waitlists for acute services. We will continue to see people die as a result of unresolved mental illness.”

Community educator Amy Baskin goes to workplaces in Kamloops for a talk called ‘Lunch and Learn,’ enlightening workers about their mental health. It’s all funded by the individual companies that participate. With more funding, however, the program could be expanded.

“Yeah, it would be really cool to have funding, so if a group came and really wanted the training but weren’t a business or didn’t have a budget, it would be so lovely to have funds to say we can come and do this work,” said Baskin.

Ultimately, CMHA Kamloops would love to open up what is called a Recovery College, which provides educational classes for people regarding mental health.

“One of the really beautiful things about a Recovery College model is that it isn’t cookie-cutter. The concept is, but the actual content is driven by the needs of the community. The content is fluid and the supports are fluid, and they change based on what the community, in fact, needs at any given time.”

But Mullaly says that would require three or four times the funding.