This year seems to be the year that our federal government has decided to tackle youth mental health. It’s about time.
A Statistics Canada study released in 2021 (with pre-pandemic stats) shows that almost one in five Canadians aged 12 and older reported that they needed help with their mental health. Of those, 45 per cent felt their needs were not met. That’s shocking to think nearly half of people struggling with their mental health feel they are not getting the treatment they need.
Mental health deserves the same attention that we give to physical health, especially when it comes to our youth.
There is a bigger picture here: if we work on youth mental health, giving our youth ways to manage, that equips them as they move into adulthood. It won’t erase mental health issues in adults: just as people have physical health issues, there will always be mental health issues. Why wouldn’t we want to give our youth as many tools as possible to help them thrive?
The federal New Democrats have lobbied heavily for a youth mental health fund, and the federal Liberal minority government, which is being supported by the New Democrats in the House of Commons, listened by adding a modest fund in the latest federal budget. For a subject that affects Canadians’ lives in so many ways, mental health should not be a political bargaining chip.
The irony is not lost on us that this year’s national Mental Health Week theme is centred on compassion: ‘a call to be kind.’
In B.C., the provincial NDP government has expanded its Foundry model of establishing places where young people can go for a full range of both physical and mental services.
It is imperative that we take youth mental health seriously. Our political parties must work together to ensure governments devote more funding on programs that focus on youth mental health assessment and treatment.
It is the least we can do for future generations.
