Meeting basic needs first

You may have already heard about the project being launched by the Mental Health Commission of Canada that aims to study the link between mental illness and homelessness (see Toronto Star article here).

In this research study (which is the largest project in Canada's history to study this link), over 1300 people nationally will be given a place to live and receive social services. Participants will have weekly access to psychiatrists and front-line staff to receive medical and emotional help. And they'll be given choices - after they're housed - about how to cope with their mental health or addiction problems.

Traditionally, people had to be quite stable (clean and sober) before being offered housing. Dr. Jayne Barker, project director of the At Home initiative, very appropriately asks, "How can people who have to worry about where they will sleep tonight or where their next meal is going to come from...start to think about their depression or anxiety or schizophrenia?" The philosphy behind this study is quite ingenius, really - provide people with housing first and the rehabilitation will follow. It's too bad that American psychologist Abraham Maslow first proposed his "Hierarchy of Needs" in 1943. According to him, basic physiological needs must first be met (like food, water, shelter) before other higher needs (such as safety, employment, love, self-esteem) can be attained. Makes you wonder what they've been thinking all this time...

ODSP Adjudication of Addictions
Sep 9, 2009News source:

Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC)People with addictions to drugs and/or alcohol may now be eligible for benefits from the Ontario Disability Support Program, reports the Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC). Until now, people who have disabling conditions caused only by drug and/or alcohol addictions have not been eligible for ODSP benefits. A recent court decision has changed this. The court decided that the government was violating the Ontario Human Rights Code by not allowing addictions to be considered when ODSP is deciding whether or not a person meets their test of being "a person with a disability".The provincial government is appealing the court's decision. But for now, people with addictions may be able to get ODSP benefits, if they meet the disability test. ODSP is currently developing a way to make decisions on whether or not people with addictions will meet their definition of disability. This decision-making process will be in place starting this fall. ODSP will start reviewing the applications of people with addictions at that time.

Family and Consumer Focus Group

FAMILIES AND CONSUMERS- LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD

Thursday September 24, 2009 from 6:30-7:30
Location: 2600 Edenhurst Drive Suite 101, Mississauga Ontario (Hurontario and Dundas)


The Mental Health and Addictions Education and Training Task Team is looking for your help to participate in a focus group which will allow them to further develop educational opportunities for individuals and families.

They want to learn:
· How you accessed information/education in the beginning?
· What education/ resources do you feel would be beneficial to families and consumer?
· What type of education would you like to see in the future?

Do not hesitate; we need the expertise of individuals and families to help create more effective resources for the mental health and addictions services in Mississauga.

Please RSVP to Lyndsay Wright at 905-276-8316









**The Mississauga Halton LHIN (Local Health Integration Network) SIGMHA (System Integration for Mental Health and Additions) team has been busy over the last couple of years trying to improve the Mental Health and Addictions services here within our city. Our LHIN is one of 14 throughout the province of Ontario and is responsible for the planning, funding, integration and evaluation of all health services**.

July 20, 2009

The FAME Etobicoke Speaker Series for Autumn 2009 has been organized.

We will have lawyers presenting on Henson Trust and the RDSP (Registered Disability Savings Plan).

The RDSP allows persons with disabilities and their families to contribute to this plan without it affecting their ODSP.

It's about time that persons receiving ODSP income support are given the validation by society that they deserve. They are citizens and should be entitled to the same rights. If you work, you are allowed to save for your future, without it affecting your income; in fact you are encouraged to save by being given tax credits. Just because you are unable to work because of a health issue, should not exclude you from this "right to save". This is a positive step forward in recognizing people with disabilities as valued members of society.

Check out the FAME website for details of these FREE educational events!
Enjoy the rest of the summer and see you in the fall!

Mary

Families Speak Out...

Here in Mississauga we run our monthly support group meeting on the third Monday of the month; last night four ladies joined me for our July meeting. A common topic that seems to come up during discussions month to month is the system or lack thereof. Families have first hand experience in dealing with the shortfalls of our Mental Health System and are often left picking up the slack. They really do provide all of the same community based services with little to no training, financial support, or respite care.

We try to stay away from "system venting" as much as possible in our support groups as it often is not constructive, but last night I offered the group 6 minutes of 'system venting' which was enthusiastically received. The catch to our system venting period was that the families had to end their venting with constructive suggestions to improve our Mental Health system here in Ontario. Leave it up to the experts to identify what is missing; here were some of the suggestions...

· Community-based Mental Health Emergency rooms-people can receive the respect and dignity they deserve while they are unwell without having to be escorted in front of others by police, or having to sit in an emergency room with other people presenting physical injuries, etc; a place where individuals do not have to be locked into rooms with little to no support. A place where consumers and families can come in and talk to crisis workers; a place where people can talk face to face and others can listen.

· Follow up, follow up, follow up. Families want to see a system that has a follow up process. When you need to see a specialist someone makes that appointment for you as soon as possible and then they call to remind you of your appointment. Families do not go out and try to find their own Cardiologist, Urologists, Oncologists, etc. the system finds it for them. Let's have an effective system that supports families in finding mental health support.

· Family-centered care-this means including the family in the process, listening to what the family has to say, taking their observations into account. "Families don't just go out and Form their loved one for fun" Family centered care within ER settings as well.

· Family education-many families figured this system out on their own; "help us help our loved ones" Not much to ask for.

So the 6 minutes of 'system venting' turned into 15 but what a great way to spend 15 minutes. Families really do know what is needed, they know because they are the ones that are actually working within the system.

Families are looking for and needing changes. They will continue to wait.

A Life Altering Event

I ran into Tom Regehr of Cast Canada at the grocery store the other day. At first I didn't recognise him as he had lost so much weight. It turns out that Tom had been diagnosed with throat cancer, had gone through chemo and radiation and had been fed a liquid diet through a tube for several weeks. What a thing to go through! As usual Tom had an acute observation and taken something positive from his life altering event. Tom pointed out that while the medical procedure treatments that he had received were top notch there was a glaring lack of emotional support or recognition of how this affected him as a person. The only slight recognition was a half-hearted offer for him to speak to a Hospital Social Worker. Tom explained that there was the emotion impact of receiving the initial diagnosis and contemplating that he may die, the incredible and unrelenting pain involved with the treatments and finally the message that he was now cancer free. One might think that this announcement of being cancer free would be a cause for celebration and allow the forgetting of the previous emotional turmoil but no - Tom says he was in the "fighting" mode to deal with the cancer and it's emotional impact and not yet ready for this news, welcome as it may be.

Tom feels very strongly that our health care system and society in general are not recognising the whole person and the emotional impact of such events. I think Tom has a very good point.

On behalf of Frank...

There is no denying that Frank is a busy bee out in Brampton working 3 days a week, so I thought I would take it upon myself to write a bit about the wonderful Brampton summer social that took place on June 30. It was again a pleasure to be out in Brampton working with colleagues and seeing the wonderful Brampton/Bolton families that I have gotten to know over the last year. A great turn out of 15 plus joined us that evening for delicious sandwiches, salads and desserts. Again a special thanks to Christine who drove down some homemade salads to munch on for dinner. Even when you are not there the families know your many contributions!!!

We spent a good chunk of the night playing a Guess Who game where each person had to answer 6 questions about themselves and the rest of the group had to guess who the person was. Even though many of us did not know each other very well this activity was a hit and resulted in a coin toss for first place winner. Some of the best responses came from the questions asking about what the worst thing people did as a kid was and what made them different from the rest of the group.

Many thanks again to the families that make events like this so much fun and worth while. Special thanks to Nicole who organized the food and Frank for his amazing talent at getting families out to enjoy an evening with us.

Enjoy your summer Brampton/Bolton families.

Lyndsay