TO:

The Hon. Michael Kerzner, Ontario Solicitor General

The Hon. Michael Tibollo, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Ontario

The Hon. Sylvia Jones, Minister of Health, Ontario

RE: Ontario Expanding Mental Health Supports for Public Safety Personnel

Your recent announcement of significant funding ($32M) to “ensure first responders and public safety personnel have access to mental health supports” is welcome recognition that our communities’ current challenges with public safety take a toll on the mental wellness of first responders. However, 45,000 critical workers are missing from your program.

While it is laudable that your announcement and proposed funding includes the many first responders in the province, including animal welfare inspectors, public safety personnel families and retirees, there is a critical need to ensure that the nearly 45,000 community and social service workers in Ontario who contribute to our communities’ safety are not left without this vital support.

These professionals provide critical health and social support services to our most vulnerable community members, including people experiencing homelessness, mental health crises and the impact of a toxic drug crisis. They are often the first at the scene of overdoses and mental health crises, prior to emergency responders, and are similarly exposed to trauma and secondary stress. They also urgently need access to timely mental health and peer support.

Like the public safety personnel you aim to support, this workforce operates under immense strain, without adequate mental health support, and as such the entire sector is challenged by high staff turnover and the loss of too many workers to burnout and compassion fatigue. Excluding them from this support will exacerbate these issues, particularly as their wages ($25/hour on average) are inadequate to meet basic needs, let alone mental health care. These needs are best understood by professionals and peers who know their challenging work contexts. As women comprise nearly 80% of this sector, this issue is also about equity. In fact, many of these workers are racialized and face barriers to accessing care.

To ensure the sustainability of Ontario’s efforts to ensure appropriate and equitable health care, as well as public safety, we urge the government to include community health, social service, and harm reduction workers among personnel eligible for proposed new mental health supports.

By addressing the mental health needs of community health, social service and harm reduction workers, Ontario can build a more resilient and equitable team of public safety and community workers to respond to the complex challenges facing our communities. We urge you to prioritize this issue and allocate the necessary resources to safeguard the well-being of these community health and social service personnel. 

Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.

Sincerely,

Danielle Rolfe, Director & Co-Founder, Soul Space Ottawa

Robert Jamison, Co-Founder, Soul Space Ottawa

Robert Boyd, CEO, Ottawa Inner City Health

Michelle Hurtubise, Chief Executive Officer, Centretown Community Health Centre, Ottawa

Robin McAndrew, Executive Director, Sandy Hill Community Health Centre

Louise Goodman, Director of Consumption Treatment Services, Sandy Hill Community Health Centre

Julie M. Tessier, Director, Community & Social Services Sandy Hill Community Health Centre