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Government must revise its state of mind on mental health services

10 Nov '09

The BC government seems to think a one-size-fits-all approach to helping people in crisis is the way to go. But saving lives is not just a dollars-and-cents business.

The government plans to cut funding and replace the six community-based crisis lines on Vancouver Island with one central call centre. It claims this is a "best practice" that "makes a lot more administrative sense."

But will it help save lives?

Will it cost more in the short-term in immediate expensive emergency response services? Will it cost more in the long-term if fewer people get the follow-up support services they need?

And how do you calculate the cost of even one person's life lost to suicide, if they don't get the right help at the right time?

The government doesn't know.

It hasn't done any consultation with Vancouver Island communities, service providers, or crisis line clients. That is not what I'd call a best practices approach.

Join me in calling on the government of British Columbia to reverse the mounting cuts it's making to mental health services around our province.

BC is culling the herd

Submitted by Anonymous on November 10, 2009 - 1:40pm.
The BC government doesn't give a rat about the mental health of its citizens and the BCGEU knows it. It has created the circumstances of deep poverty, marginalization and lack of MH services, created barriers to getting onto welfare, driven homelessness, cut services for kids and families... Lets be honest, BC has become an bloodbath for corporate greed. They are driving public disorder in a way no other government ever has. Here is an interesting story that relates to public sector workers in other provinces and is very relevant to BC. Can we all say, breaking the unions. “The federal government has already signalled plans to get tough with its workers. In Ontario, Premier Dalton McGuinty gave notice this week that the province’s public sector – including nurses, doctors, teachers, police officers and judges – will no longer be “sheltered” from recession. New Brunswick plans to cut 700 civil service jobs, while Alberta’s provincial government is asking its teachers and health-care workers to accept wage rollbacks. …. the biggest target promises to be the unionized public sector. Approximately 70 per cent of Canada’s 3.3 million public sector workers are unionized. (Cited from thestar.com)

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