Aheco
at.
Ral
YOUTH SERIES
merrym.gnt
Vanier
wars
Peggy Sattler - MPP London West
240 Commissioners Rd W
London, ON N6J 1Y4
Dear Ms. Sattler,
‘We write to you in our capacity as Board Presidents/Chairs of community-based
agencies providing infant, children and youth mental health services in the London
and Middlesex area. We, along with the other Directors from our respective boards,
are volunteers who have a passion to help children, youth, and their families, living
with mental health issues. We represent diverse members of our community, your
community. We devote our time to guide agencies that depend on funding from
the Ministry of Children and Youth Services. tis from this perspective, sharing 2
‘common mission, that we express our shock and disappointment in a provincial
budget tabled on April 27, 2017 that provided no new funding to community children
and youth mental health services.
Since the introduction of Moving on Mental Health and Patients First, the Ontario
government has voiced a commitment to improving child and youth mental health,
From a community volunteer perspective, we are perplexed how government can
ignore the fact that in the last 25 years, there have only been two base funding
increases for agencies providing these services: 3% in 2003 and 5% in 2006.
During that time, inflation has risen by nearly 53%. The demand for these services
is growing by 10% per year.”
‘Our agencies cannot compete with employment wages in other sectors, leading to
staff loss. We also struggle to maintain the necessary infrastructure to support our
needed services. We are not heading toward a crisis, we are there now. Yet
despite these circumstances and our advocacy efforts our agencies, in combination
with the leadership of CMHO, are continually ignored by elected officals.
‘iso perplexing is the focus of this government to give additional funds to the health,
care system with much greater emphasis than has ever been allocated to MCYS.
Itis not difficult to grasp that properly funded community agencies would greatly
reduce the burden on our health care systems and emergency room
waits. Ontarians have the right to expect that their tax dollars are spent with care
and foresight. Neglecting mentally il children and youth when they are in the
community and could be helped, only to spend money on them once their
conditions have worsened to the point of an expensive hospital visit is not an
outcome of diligent financial governance. Money aside, this is an unacceptable way
to treat our children and their families.
‘Over the years, community based children’s mental health agencies have become
extremely proficient at “doing more with less’. ‘This situation has unfortunately
become our unintended downfall and we currently find ourselves at monthly board
meetings strugaling to find ways to pay staff, pay bills and service the children and
families thet rely upon us.
* (Children’s Mental Health Ontario Pre-Budget Submission 2017)In 2016, there was a youth suicide crisis in neighbouring Oxford County. In the span of four
months, five young people took their own lives while many more suicide attempts occurred. We
also know that our Indigenous communities live with these tragedies every day.
Itis unconscionable that this government did not identify funding specifically for community
based children’s mental health care via the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.
In March 2017, the provincial Standing Committee on Public Accounts met in response to the
2016 report from the Auditor General of Ontario, The Report identified clear issues with the
historically-based funding method to agencies. Standing Committee members highlighted
MCYS's failure to allocate sufficient funding to agency core budgets. Once again, it appears
this government has tumed its back on clear and convincing evidence that community based
children’s mental health service agencies deserve better.
Despite all of the above, we remain committed to our agencies and those we serve. We remain
committed to working with Boards of Directors of provincial community mental heath agencies
to ensure that not only we are heard, but that there is action taken by the government to move
forward in proper base funding increases.
In closing, we reiterate that we are peoples from all walks of life who care enough to serve as
Board Chairs for agencies providing vital mental health services to children and youth. As
diverse as we are, we are united in our goal to rescue our agencies from decades of
underfunding so that children do not end up in emergency rooms, hospitalized, or as victims of
suicide. It is our hope that you will unite with us to fix this system.
Sincerely,
Chris Churney - Board President of Vanier Children's Services
John Pare - Board President of WAYS Mental Health Support
Lyn Ibson - Board Co-Chair of Craigwood Youth Services
Carolee Coulter — Board Co-Chair of Craigwood Youth Services
Celine Bourbonnaise-MacDonald ~ Board Chair of Merrymount Family Support & Crisis Centre
Lisa Taylor - Board Chair of Anago.
Brenda Kerton — Board Chair of the London Family Court Clinic
Paul Willoughby ~ Board Chair of Community Services Coordination Network (CSCN)
ce: Teresa Armstrong, MPP (London-Fanshawe)
Hon Deb Matthews, MPP (London North Centre)
Jeff Yurek, MPP (Elgin-Middlesex-London)