Canadian Mental Health Association Grey Bruce CEO Clark MacFarlane says he is looking forward to further building upon one of their programs in the new year.
MacFarlane says one of the CMHA’s biggest accomplishments in the past year was the launch of a central phone number to access all 16 of its locations and programs in the region.
MacFarlane says the driving force behind the merging of CMHA Grey Bruce, G & B House and HopeGreyBruce Mental Health & Addiction Services in 2018, was to improve access to their services.
“The creation of our central intake was a big milestone for us. With that, we’ve created a one number to call and in calling it, people can receive intake for a number of our programs,” says MacFarlane. “So it really is reducing the number of steps people have to take and as a result, we have cut the wait times significantly from referrals to the service.”
He adds they were also able to launch the Recovery College in April with a $136,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Resilient Community Fund Grant.
The college is accessible to anyone delivering in-person and virtual services in the region. It offers a variety of courses, with the funds used to support students gaining new skills in connecting with others in the community, and assisting with costs associated with staffing, training, purchasing technical equipment and administration.
He adds like many other businesses, one of the struggles they faced over the past year came from the Covid pandemic.
“In the mental health and addictions sector, we have seen an increase in the severity and acuity of the illness. That has made it much more challenging for staff and those we serve. Covid has been hard on people, drug use has gone up and the isolation caused by Covid has been very difficult for those living with mental illness and very dangerous for those using substances if they are using alone. This has certainly been something common across the mental health and addiction sector,” says MacFarlane.
Looking to the new year, however, MacFarlane says they will continue to work on the development of the central intake phone line.
“We are revising our whole service delivery model, the central intake was the first piece. We will be looking at both our assessment process and structures as well as looking at how we can better collaborate internally, moving to shared caseloads and more team approaches as we continue to integrate the resources that we now have under one roof,” says MacFarlane.
MacFarlane adds they are also looking forward to hosting their annual Ride Don’t Hide event, which made its first return in June since Covid. This coming summer they will once again be launching their fundraising actives for the event.
MacFarlane thanks his staff for their work this past year and providing service throughout the pandemic.