Supports? Where?

Mental Health supports in our community, actually mental health supports all across Ontario, and even Canada, are lacking so much that I had trouble finding 15 local ones to post for Sarnia.

Yes, there are counselors everywhere, and some are really GREAT; however, most people can't afford them.

The ones covered by the government either have LONG waitlists, some of which are more than a year.

Long wait times: People don't even bother reaching out, or by the time their name gets called, they have given up. Parents who need help NOW feel lost and unsure what to do.

The few who hang on and actually get into programs or counselors, etc., do well, but then have to wait again for the next part of the program. In the worst cases, only 2 or 3 sessions are covered, and that's not even enough to start to build trust.

Limited resources: many areas don't even have easily accessible resources; they have to drive or figure out how to reach other towns or cities

The mental health support cutbacks that have happened over the past couple of decades +, are like some sort of experiment. Let's watch children who couldn't receive support because of wait times or them just being non-existent, and see how they fare throughout their lives without mental health support.

Yes, I am aware that there was even less in the 50's and 60's, but Ontario governments gutted the little support we had over the decades in the 80's, 90's, and 2000s, leaving us the broken systems we see today.

Today, we know more about mental health than ever before. We see campaigns against bullying, racism, sexual abuse, addiction, etc.

However, campaigns are not supports, and they can run as many as they want to make people more aware, but until we have the support to help those who are struggling with mental health, they won't make much of a difference.

So what can we do? Email your local politicians. Sign petitions calling on the government to increase funding and expand support. Make your voices heard. I know sometimes it feels like it's not enough. You can attend local rallies where political leaders gather and ask the tough questions to our leaders.