February 17, 2022
Manitoba Unveils Mental Health and Community Wellness Roadmap
Watch news conference
The Manitoba government is launching A Pathway to Mental Health and Community Wellness: A Roadmap for Manitoba, a new direction for the province’s mental health, substance use and addiction recovery system, and broader wellness and health promotion programs over the next five years, Mental Health and Community Wellness Minister Sarah Guillemard announced today.
As part of the launch, the Manitoba government is also investing $23.7 million to support ongoing initiatives that align with the priorities of the roadmap and $17.1 million in funding to support year one of the plan.
“Manitobans have told us what kinds of systems and supports they need, and this roadmap and our investment will deliver on those expectations,” said Guillemard. “Our government’s investment, along with the direction set out by the roadmap, will make the system easier to navigate so that people will have access to high-quality services when and where they need them.”
“Both before the pandemic and especially since the pandemic, the demand for child and adolescent mental health services has exceeded the existing resources,” said Dr. Laurence Y. Katz, medical director of child and adolescent mental health at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg, and professor of psychiatry, University of Manitoba. “This roadmap provides the guiding principles for moving the system toward a more accessible, equitable, culturally sensitive and accountable child and adolescent mental health system with a focus on both prevention and treatment.”
A Pathway to Mental Health and Community Wellness: A Roadmap for Manitoba is Manitoba’s plan for building a responsive and reliable system for mental health, substance use and addictions services as well as chronic disease prevention and health promotion, the minister added. It follows a broad consultation process that engaged with more than 3,000 Manitobans, including frontline service providers and people with lived experience, to guide the roadmap’s development.
The five-year roadmap focuses on system improvements and investments in five key areas including:
- equitable access and co-ordination;
- mental well-being and chronic disease prevention;
- quality and innovation;
- Indigenous partnership and wellness; and
- governance and accountability.
The minister noted the plan identifies a range of initiatives in each of these areas, from investing in mental health, substance use and addictions services that will be easier to access anywhere in Manitoba, to funding more Indigenous-led healing services and supports for clients and families. There is also a significant focus on prevention and early intervention to ensure Manitobans have access to supports, when they need it and where they need it, and includes an emphasis on supports for children and youth.
“Manitobans have sent a clear message about the overwhelming challenges of accessing and navigating the mental health and addictions system,” said Sean Miller, executive director, Peer Connections Manitoba. “This roadmap is an essential first step in validating the voice of people with lived experience, removing barriers to receiving the help individuals and families have a right to in a timely manner, and putting the ‘care’ back into ‘health care’. Peer Connections Manitoba is committed to the necessary collaborative work in supporting this critical step forward and optimistic about its positive impact on population health.”
Implementation of the roadmap will be guided by the following seven principles: accountable, reconciliation, culturally relevant, evidence-based, recovery-oriented, person and family-centred and trauma-informed.
“We have come so far as a province in reducing the stigma associated with mental illness and addictions, and in encouraging people to seek support and treatment when needed,” said Guillemard. “Now it is time to improve our system so we can meet that need.”
Manitoba Mental Health, Wellness and Recovery was established in January 2021 with a mandate that included mental health, substance use and addictions, health promotion and wellness policy, planning, funding and service oversight. The department’s name changed last month to Manitoba Mental Health and Community Wellness.
To view the full roadmap, visit https://gov.mb.ca/mh/roadmap.html.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION ATTACHED
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
BACKGROUNDER-Mental_Health_Roadmap-MHCW.pdf - https://www.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/BACKGROUNDER-Mental_Health_Roadmap-MHCW.pdf