Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson (Image Credit: Flickr / Government of BC)

By Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Numerous mental health supports available in Kamloops

Aug 19, 2021 | 12:14 PM

(NOTE: This column was submitted in response to a column written by Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar, published Aug. 12.)

Keeping people safe and secure, and investing in the services people count on is the number one focus of John Horgan and his government. We know the earlier youth and families get mental health and substance use support, the better the outcomes will be.

As part of Budget 2021, we are investing $500 million over the next three years toward mental health and addictions care — the largest investment of its kind in B.C. history. This new money will allow us to continue to expand vital care to better connect people to culturally safe and effective services. This includes more support for mental health programs in schools and the expansion of integrated child and youth teams.

Our government is improving access to eating disorder care, suicide prevention and early psychosis intervention. We are adding more Foundry Centres and investing in virtual services like the Foundry App – connecting young people to mental health, addictions and primary care counselling right away, from anywhere in B.C. We are expanding the full spectrum of addictions treatment and recovery services, including 195 new treatment and recovery beds, ongoing, stable funding for overdose prevention sites, primary care networks, the Lifeguard app, additional nursing supports and more.

When it comes to mental health and addictions care, in Kamloops we’ve already added 10 more youth treatment beds (part of a doubling of youth beds across BC), youth intensive case management teams to support those with complex needs, supervised overdose prevention services, medication assisted treatment, on-call addiction medicine consultation, Integrated Treatment Teams who meet people where they need help, along with a host of other services including mental health workers to assist police responding to calls. We’ve funded Interior Health for new and expanded programs across the region which can be accessed through its 310-MHSU (no area code needed) phone number.

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If you happened to have read MLA Milobar’s missive last week, know that his party had a chance to build a mental health and addictions system when he was in government and did not. For 16 years, the former government ignored the devastation that mental health and substance use was having on our friends and families. In fact, they took money out of some programs and made the problems worse. As a result of this, gaps remain. Yes, we are expanding Foundry, and Kamloops might be selected this time. Yes, we’re adding mental health supports to take the pressure off police. The B.C. NDP government is working to improve access to treatment and recovery services in Kamloops and throughout the province to ensure that no one slips through the cracks. Providing options and meeting people where they’re at is key, and we are working hard on the next steps to address the mental health needs of people in British Columbia.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.