A committee tasked with reviewing mental health and substance use in the province has released recommendations for next steps.
The committee is made up of all parties in the province, with MHAs from districts on the island and in Labrador.
Among the recommendations, the committee suggests the government should improve access to harm reduction services, add more community support to the system and create more education and awareness.
However, Health Minister Krista Lynn Howell says near the top of the list is access to mental health services.
“The issue that we heard the most about was access to long-term, short-term (programs and services),” she said.
“We’ve done some work to move the dial on that, but I do know that there are still a lot of challenges for people who have these mental health and addictions issues.”
The recommendations include:
– Addressing the social determinants of health (e.g., housing, poverty)
– Focus on children, youth and families
– Focus on Indigenous People and communities
– Improve education and awareness
– Enhance navigation support
– Reduce wait times and improve access to treatment programs and services
– Increase access to harm reduction
– Ensure consistent delivery of high-quality programs
– Increase community collaboration and investment
– Improve data collection and evaluation practices