Whereas, youth mental health was hitting a crisis point in Peel before Covid, as demonstrated by research in 2019 and expressed locally at a round table hosted in February 2020, with a number of school administrators, staff and teachers, the Mayor, local Councillors, community agencies and representatives from Region of Peel and the City of Brampton;
Whereas, Children’s Mental Health Ontario’s (CMHO) report titled “Kids Can’t Wait” showed Peel among the highest in wait times in the province, reaching as high as 566 days for counselling and therapy for those under 18 years old and even longer wait times for more intensive mental health services, reaching 737 days, or over two years;
Whereas, CMHO considered Peel a "hot spot" for long wait times because funding for many mental health services hasn't kept pace with booms in the region's population over the years;
Whereas, the report titled “Changing Landscape of Health in Peel” (2019) identified Emergency Department (ED) visits for mental health, highest among youth under age 24 (more than doubled over same time period among individuals younger than 14 years) and individuals who accessed care for a mental illness had 3 or more repeat hospitalizations;
Whereas, the same report found that suicide/self harm have increased significantly among female youth under age 24 and discovered that 33% (44% for females) of students in Grades 7–12 did not know who to turn to when wanting to discuss a mental health issue;
Whereas, limited access to mental health supports for students, result in them turning to their school teachers and administrative staff for support but such staff lack the professional training to address or keep up with demand for support;
Whereas, as recently as last fall, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) launched the “Act of Mental Health Campaign” pressing our national leaders to fund mental health care, recognizing that kids are getting sicker, and increasingly post-pandemic, because they can’t get mental health care when they need it and are winding up in Emergency Departments and in hospital because their mental health isn’t treated soon enough;
Whereas, the Region of Peel continues to be chronically under-funded for mental health support whereby per capita funding (2019) was calculated to be $48 and $36 for Central West and Mississauga Halton LHINs, respectively, which is significantly lower than the per capita funding of $80 for Ontarians;
Whereas, In October 2020 the Region of Peel Council approved the Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan, with focus to use upstream approaches to tackle systems-level challenges: family violence, mental health and addictions, and systemic discrimination.
Whereas, the City of Brampton has Council and staff representation at the Region of Peel Community Safety and Wellbeing Committee with a separate sub-committee focusing on mental health;
Whereas, the City of Brampton Community Safety and Wellbeing action plan approved in September 2022, is committed to enhancing community resilience through cross-sector engagement, collaboration, and advocacy which clearly identifies: Increased mental health supports and programming, especially for children and youth, considering the growing challenges faced by this demographic during the pandemic;
Whereas Mississauga’s youth hub based in Malton provides youth with access to mental health support and the City of Brampton is developing two youth hubs with potential to do the same;
Whereas, Algoma University is planning to establish a Mental Health and Addictions Research and Training Institute in Brampton;
Whereas, unlike other School Boards across the province (such as the Upper Grand School Board which provides specific psychological and mental health services) the Peel District School Board and Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board, do not adequately provide mental health supports or access to support for students, especially those in crisis;
Whereas, on Feb 15, 2023 the Peel District School Board hosted an Advisory Council Meeting regarding the development of their Mental Health Strategy and highlighted collaboration with other levels of government as a priority;
Therefore Be It Resolved:
1. The City engage in the following advocacy measures:
a. Mayor, on behalf of Council write letters to Federal and Provincial Ministers of Mental Health and Addictions (Bennett and Tibollo respectively), and cc: to the Peel District School Board, Dufferin Peel Catholic School Board, Regional Council, and local MPPs and MPs, regarding the need for increased mental health funding and support for youth in Brampton and that the letter include a link to this agenda item, this motion, and related correspondence in the agenda;
b. A meeting be scheduled with Minister Tibollo, School Board Trustees, Mayor and members of Council regarding mental health support for youth in Brampton;
c. Council advocate to the Peel District School Board to collaborate with the City, Region and social support agencies in order to improve immediate mental health support needs for youth in Brampton;
d. Council advocate to Minister Tibollo and School Boards to implement a model of mental health support similar to Upper Grand School Board where trained mental health workers are allocated to schools, especially for those most in need (https://www.ugdsb.ca/programs/special-education/student-support-and-program-services-department/);
e. Council advocate to Region of Peel to enhance communication related to access to the Region’s community response table so schools can access immediate support for youth in crisis;
f. A meeting to be scheduled with the Region of Peel Community Safety and Well-Being Executive Leadership Members and the School Boards to discuss opportunities for collaboration at the Community Safety and Well-Being Mental Health and Addictions Action Table.
g. Possible collaboration with the CSWB System Leadership Table, Algoma University and other relevant stakeholders to host a Youth Mental Health Summit or Roundtable in Brampton.
2. The City action the following:
a. Community Safety and Well-Being Office to join the Peel District School Board’s planning process in the development of their Mental Health Strategy; and
b. Provide an update on Brampton’s Youth Hubs and support/programming related to youth mental health.
A recorded vote was requested and carried unanimously, as follows: