As people who are caregivers for people diagnosed with mental illness, people with mental health diagnoses, and people who are service providers in the mental health care system, we are acutely aware of the urgent need for additional support for families impacted by mental illness. In any given year, 1 in 5 Canadians experiences a mental illness and 1 in 2 adults over the age of 40 has a history of mental illness. For each person, there is a family doing their best to support and care for their loved one.

We urge you to take the following actions that will improve the lives of families affected by mental illness:

• Create a strategy that increases family-centred services. These services are needed to: enhance support for families, reduce caregiver stress, prevent family breakdown, and empower family members to care for each other;
• Increase access to mental health care by channeling more funding to community-based services that will address the diversity of family experiences represented in Ontario and target root causes of health inequities and disparities;
• Support equitable distribution of funding by directing targeted resources to families who care for Ontarians living with serious and persistent mental illnesses.

This is a critical time to make changes to address the urgent needs of families living with mental illness in Ontario. We need your help. Please act today to improve the lives of these families who should be remembered on Family Day.