What We Do
What we know from the Statistics Canada survey
released in September 2003 is that 2.6 million
people live with mental health disorders and that
1.1 million people nationally live without
treatment/support for those mental health issues.
The study also went on to state that 18% of those
who did not seek treatment “reported that they were
afraid to ask for help, or they were afraid of what
others would think”.
Many consumer driven groups/organizations work in
isolation due to the same stigma that plagues
individuals, and the lack of resources and
understanding of how to access resources. We have
consulted and disseminated information to these
organizations, however, there is a need to bring all
key stakeholders to a table where issues could be
discussed in an organized and meaningful way that
would be inclusive of all, around all issues of
relevance and that would lead to the building of a
coalition.
We have witnessed, in recent years, a reduction
of financial support to a multitude of organizations
nationally. This leads to further increased
isolation of individuals who formerly used the
non-traditional system for support.
The strongest of these organizations have
survived in isolation with little support, and, in
many cases, ignored from the mental health system in
their respective jurisdictions. This community is in
dire need for coalition building that will bring
together leaders to share knowledge, and build on
what we know to create a stronger, more unified
voice that will benefit the nation at large in
coming years.
This project seeks to satisfy coalition building
need, capacity building of
provincial/regional/national organizations, to
address pressing issues, and to begin a process of
the development of a national team.
In terms of COALITION BUILDING, we plan to bring
together key regional stakeholders nationally to
begin to develop a national coalition to work on key
issues that affect our constituency. This piece
would include information sharing between all
participants about programs/projects currently being
offered in their jurisdiction by mental health
consumer/survivors, barriers being faced by these
same organizations, and a priority list of what the
coalition can do to support their need.
This project will build the CAPACITY of mental
health disability organizations by providing
networking opportunities that will foster new
relationships between associations. This coalition
will create reference points where answers to
pressing difficulties within organizations are found
and this will have a trickle down effect to
community based organizations represented by their
region.
A TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE by the sharing of Best
Practices and Lessons Learned will be an outcome of
the beginning phase of building this coalition.
Sharing of organizational Best Practices and Lessons
Learned will be a consequence of this project.
ISSUES pressing our community will be listed,
prioritized and committees will be created, and
organized to work on those issues most relevant to
the need of our community. Some examples of issues
affecting our community include: Stigma, Barriers to
Employment, Public Policy, Lack of Appropriate
Housing, Lack of Sufficient access to Services and
Supports, etc.
Objectives
- To create a coalition of mental health
consumer/survivor driven organizations. This
coalition will represent all
provinces/territories/national and organized
regions of Canada where consumer/survivor
organizations, funded or not, exist.
- To create a management team that will be
oversee the duties of operational issues of the
coalition and policy creation.
- To create a mechanism for organizational
sharing of Best Practices and Lessons Learned.
- To identify common issues of
consumer/survivor need across jurisdictions
nationally.
- To prioritize and create a work plan for
addressing common issues.
- To implement and organize committees to
carry out the work plan created to address
issues of priority.
This Coalition is seeking organizational
involvement from across the country, so if your
organization wants to appoint a leader to work with
us as we grow; we encourage you to contact
info@ccamhr.ca
or 1-888-406-4663 to begin the process of your
involvement.
|
