Cuts coming to Hamilton mental health and addiction services

City councillors have reluctantly passed budgets that will reduce staffing to mental health and addictions programs in Hamilton.

It's really unfortunate and clearly an impact of ongoing budget decisions by the province to underfund community mental health supports and addiction services in an environment and time where our communities are seeing staggering rates," said Coun. Nrinder Nann.

The province funds the two public health programs - Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Services and Community Mental Health Promotion. It has frozen the budgets of both programs this fiscal year, leaving a combined shortfall of $130,000.

The city's Board of Health deferred approving the budgets in June, hoping to find more money.

We're seeing staggering wait lists across the entire sector here in Hamilton," said Nann. Wait lists ... from six months to multiple years in terms of getting access into those co-ordinated supports and just access to therapy."

The board was informed in September that staff came up empty after being turned down by Ontario Health West, Health Canada's Substance Use and Addiction Program, the Hamilton Community Foundation and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

It speaks to the challenges we are having in terms of increased need and not as many resources," Angela Burden, the city's general manager of healthy and safe communities, told the board Monday. We continue to share your concerns around lack of funding to respond to the needs."

The shortfall will result in the loss of the equivalent of 1.25 full-time jobs between the two programs.

The cuts translate to a decrease in the number of appointments for new clients as well as followup visits, driving up wait times in Alcohol, Drug, and Gambling Services. They will also decrease access to specialized mental health and addiction services for those experiencing homelessness and complex health issues.

But city councillors couldn't put the budget off any longer without causing serious implications.

Coun. Brad Clark said the board has heard anecdotally for the past few years that there has been an increase in substance abuse, alcoholism, intimate partner violence and mental health issues.

It seems odd that we see increases ... yet the province is not funding these FTEs (full-time equivalents)," he added.

Joanna Frketich is a health reporter at The Spectator. jfrketich@thespec.com