Petition To Increase Mental Health Funding

Tuesday, 8 May 2018 12:39

With a provincial election one month away, Canadian Mental Health Services is urging the public to help on the funding front.

OXFORD - It's mental health week until May 13th, and the Canadian Mental Health Association has a simple task for everyone during this time.

They are asking Oxford County residents to join the other 10,000 Ontarians who have signed their petition, pushing for more funding for mental health.

Executive Director with CMHA Oxford, Mike McMahon says the services they offer are simply underfunded and it needs to change.

"Mental Health and addictions care is funded at 3% less in terms of per capita funding than the rest of the physical health of individuals, and that been the historic short coming of the health system funding."

With a provincial election one month away, the province wide campaign called "Erace the Difference" is to bring awareness for the leaders to hear the call for funding increases.

Executive Director Mike McMahon now more than ever, people need to use their voice so that leaders hear their concerns about mental health care.

"We are seeing commitments from all the political parties around mental health and addictions care, and we feel that is part of erasing the difference, it is just so important that folks understand that it is because of the historic difference in funding models that we are on the brink of eliminating it."

Last year, Ontario devoted just 6.5 per cent ($3.5 billion) of a total $54-billion health budget to mental health and addictions.

CMHA encourages Oxford residents who are on social media to share the Erase the Difference campaign and to encourage others to sign the petition.

Fast Facts provided by CMHA:

* Over 4,000 Canadians per year die by suicide – an average of almost 11 suicides a day.

* The burden of mental illness in Ontario is 1.5 times that of all cancers combined and more than seven times of all infectious diseases.

* In Ontario the annual cost of alcohol-related health care, law enforcement, corrections, lost productivity, and other problems is estimated to be at least $5 billion.

For more information about the campaign, click here.