Oxford County To Receive Funding For Mental Health Services

Sunday, 12 May 2019 06:37

The Government of Ontario is investing money towards mental health and addiction services across the province, including Oxford County.

OXFORD COUNTY - Various Oxford facilities and mental health centres will get over $550,000 in funding from the Ontario government.

Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman says four organizations will receive this investment, including the Woodstock General Hospital.

"The money will go towards the present providers of mental health services in Oxford County. So the Canadian Mental Health Association for Oxford will receive $105,186, Wellkin Child and Youth Mental Wellness is getting $163,533, the Oxford County Community Health Centre will receive $244,695 for opioid addiction and $40,000 to the Woodstock General Hospital. So it's kind of all over with the providers of mental health services in Oxford to help them increase the services where people are waiting on them."

CMHA Oxford's funding will go towards housing support, Wellkin Child and Youth Mental Wellness' money will be spent on youth mental health services and Woodstock General Hospital's money will be provided for early psychosis intervention.

Hardeman says the investment will make it easier to access these services.

"I think it is important to recognize that mental health seems to becoming more prevalent, but at the same time I think part of it is we're being somewhat successful in getting people to identify, to become involved in the solution as opposed to sitting back and suffering with it on their own. Up until now, we've been trying to do a lot of work, trying to get people to recognize that there's help out there for them if they need it when things get beyond what they can cope with. So I'm hopeful that with this injection of extra funding it will be easier for people to access the services they require."

A video series was also launched on raising awareness on mental health among farmers, their families and rural communities.

Hardeman says the series features farm leaders from different organizations encouraging people during the crop planting season that mental health services are available if they need them.

These initiatives are a part of a ten year commitment from the Ontario government to invest $1.9 billion dollars into developing a comprehensive mental health and addictions strategy. Hardeman says $1.9 billion dollars will also come from the federal government, totalling close to $4 billion dollars invested in mental health throughout the province.

"It's part of our commitment of the $1.9 billion and obviously that's combined with $1.9 billion of the federal government, so it's $3.8 billion dollars that will be invested in mental health in Ontario over that ten year period."