City mayors like Lloydminster's Gerald Aalbers are asking the federal and provincial governments for more support with mental health and addictions. (File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

Needing help

Lloydminster mayor voices need for more mental health, addictions resources

Feb 28, 2022 | 8:00 AM

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect Saskatchewan residents, the Saskatchewan Urban Mayors Assocation (SUMA) is voicing concerns over the available supports for mental health and addictions.

Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers, chair of the SUMA City Mayors Caucus (CMC), commented on the worsening situation in Canada shortly after the CMC meeting on Feb. 11. Minister’s Carolyn Bennett (Mental Health/Addictions) and Dan Vandal (Prairies Economic Development Canada) were present to speak on what the federal government is doing and how they will ensure the needs of Saskatchewan municipalities are addressed.

Aalbers, on behalf of SUMA, called on the province to increase the availability of mental health supports to help address trauma and provide further supports for addictions. He pointed to the number of suspected and confirmed overdose deaths doubling in the province as a concern, especially when people may wait months before that can access any kind of service.

“We’ve seen more commitments from both of them, but we want to ensure that those dollars for mental health and addictions reach the places they need to,” he said.

Some items Aalbers highlighted including making sure services are available, but also helping the transition back to society.

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“[People] need help and they’re looking for support,” he said. “Hopefully we can start to help those that are looking for help, but haven’t reached out for it.”

In a media release regarding the matter, Aalbers noted that mayors in all of Saskatchewan’s cities are receiving calls from concerned citizens, especially with the increased need during the pandemic. Since 2020, nearly 800 people have died due to drug overdose in Saskatchewan, according to the Coroners Service statistics.

Aalbers said as the province opens up that should eventually result in less stress on the mental health of residents, pointing to the ability to see emotions on people’s faces again when masking ends. This extends from young people to seniors, which he said is critical for community health as a whole.

“Getting people out and about, chatting again at tables with people having coffee,” he said. “Doesn’t matter where you go, when people can see facial expressions it will make things easier.”

(File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Province’s focus

battlefordsNOW reached out to the Ministry of Health for their thoughts on mental health and addiction in the province, as well as Mayor Aalbers’ comments on resources. In an email response from communications, they shared that they fund 23 walk-in, virtual-appointment and phone-in mental health counselling services in 22 communities across the province. Additionally, more residential beds are operating in Saskatchewan for persistent mental health needs, as part of the commitment in 2019-2020 to provide 75 residential mental health beds across Saskatchewan.

The response continued to say the government is also committed to continuing to pursue further opportunities to increase the number of addictions treatment and detox spaces in the province, with the goal of adding another 150 spaces over the next three years.

Other initiatives to reduce overdoses mentioned in the reply included:

• $940,000 for targeted harm reduction services;
• expansion of the free Take Home Naloxone program;
• introduction of access to free take home fentanyl and benzodiazepine drug checking strips at 30 locations province wide.

Information on additional mental health supports available in Saskatchewan can be found online.

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW