Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health Webinar Focuses on Mental Health and Addiction

by Bob Montgomery

The focus of next week's Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health webinar will be on mental health and addiction in rural communities.

Research Assistant Katie Sparling will be one of the speakers. She also works with the Canadian Mental Health Association and she'll be talking about some of the trends they've noticed in the last couple of years, like an increase in mental health issues and increase in homelessness. She will also speak on some of the things they're working on to address those challenges.

Sparling says up until a few years ago we were comfortable in our belief that these were problems for large urban centres but not something we should be concerned about in rural communities. It's clear that's no longer the case. Sparling points out that the Out of the Cold Shelter in Goderich opened on November 1st and has been full every night. Even though the shelter can accommodate more people than it could in the past, the need still exceeds the program's capacity. She says homelessness is now very prevalent and visible in Huron County, in particular Goderich and Exeter because there are more services there.

Having said that, Sparling says progress is being made in the expansion and development in the housing and homelessness program in the last year. She says it's also discouraging to see the rental market going in the direction it is with prices increasing to the point where people who are on assistance or in a lower income bracket can't afford to rent a home. 

Sparling also points out that housing is often just part of the problem. She says many people who are homeless are also dealing with mental health or addiction problems. They try to put supports in place so those people can be successful once they find housing.

The webinar in on Tuesday, December 5th from 12:00pm - 1:00pm and the link to the webinar registration can be found here.