All Party Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Addictions Meeting Minutes

Biggest areas of improvement since Towards Recovery included: the alignment with Bridge the gapp and E-Mental Health strategies in the province; the importance of self-referral as a tool for people to access and control their own care; and stepped care for accessibility. [...] Discussion included how best to promote services of Strongest Families; need to focus on families so that families are well to support their children and youth; focus on evidence- based services and early intervention; and non-electronic options to reach more people and promote programs. [...] Areas noted for improvement included: Need for a culture shift to more harm reduction practices (addiction and trauma-informed) in all health services and the ability to administer naloxone in hospitals; supporting staff; and providing a basic level of care to clients. [...] Areas for improvement included: the need for connection, community integration and collaboration: two-way communication (follow up on committee work, missing continued expertise and formal evaluation of that work; disconnect between funders and service providers); and more collaboration on health and corrections (appropriate modes of delivery of therapeutic services and housing). [...] Action Items • Request for Secretariat to follow up on a directory of services for Members of the House of Assembly (MHAs) and Constituency Assistants (CAs) as well as training for MHAs and CAs about available services (rural and urban).