Skip to main content

Community Mental Health Emergency Response


Community Mental Health Emergency Response

By Doug Tennant

Photo by Doug Tennant


Originally published in the North Renfrew Times on Wednesday July 1, 2020


Imagine if you called 911 and they asked “police-ambulance-fire-mental health”? Imagine if the local Mental Heath Crisis team was deemed emergency services. These are the imaginings of Jackie Lee Agnew and others and they are gaining traction in these changing times.

According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), www.camh.ca, 20% of us would normally experience a mental health problem or illness in a given year. During the current pandemic, approximately 22% of Canadians between the ages of 18-59 are experiencing moderate to severe anxiety.

Our friends, neighbours and family members, maybe even you, are having a rough go in life. When rough times become a crisis/emergency due to mental wellness it is becoming clear that the emergency response needs to be from a mental health team and not a crew of emergency responders with pepper spray, handcuffs, batons, tasers and guns. Mainstream media report about Canadians being brutally beaten, handcuffed or even shot dead during what are termed “wellness checks”. I cannot understand how the outcome of a wellness check for someone in a health emergency can result in a visit to the hospital for physical wound care or death caused by emergency responders who are sent to help?

The changing times regarding mental wellness/health is a complex issue. The intended resolve for anyone in a mental health emergency should be that they are responded to by trained mental health professionals who, with other public agencies supporting them, are able to help them through the emergency without beating them senseless or killing them. Mental health professionals must be an integral part of our community response to those experiencing an emergency. When you have a fire in your kitchen, you need firefighters. When you are having a stroke, you need paramedics. When you are in a mental health emergency, you need mental health professionals to respond, safely intervene and get you transported to a health care facility where you can be properly cared for – not in a pool of blood on your bathroom floor with pepper spray all over you while you struggle in handcuffs.

We should not keep on doing what we have been doing when responding to mental health emergencies. Just as we pivoted quickly to deal with the pandemic, we must, as a civil society, change with the times and address mental health emergencies for what they are – emergencies. It is a life and death issue that needs funding and thoughtful focused change.

Emergency response for our family, friends and neighbours during a mental health emergency needs to be done safely for everyone involved and ultimately in a health care facility.

The times they are a-changin’ - be a part of the change!


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Community Civics - where have they gone?

Recently, I was at a solemn public function that involved the playing of our national anthem, a formal ‘moment of silence’ and some meditative/prayerful time. The venue was packed shoulder to shoulder and many folks knew most of those in attendance, but there were obviously some from out of town. The lack of community civility during the ceremony was disrespectful and in my opinion rude. While the displays were not malicious in nature they certainly showed a lack of situational awareness and communal civic minded manners. Where ever has our community civility gone to? At the function I mentioned above, many adults ignored the playing of the national anthem and kept right on saying hello to those they had not seen in a while and continued to put cream and sugar into their tea and coffee. Few were singing our national song and most were not turned to face the prominently displayed Canadian flag. Sheesh – would it hurt you to at least turn and face one of our most visible national symbo...
Post a Comment
Read more

It’s time to take action against PTSD

It’s time to take action against PTSD December 08, 2014 Written by Douglas Tennant Originally published in Firefighting in Canada Clara Hughes, Canadian Olympic cyclist and speed skater, came to my town during the summer and huge crowds came out to welcome her and listen to her speak. Hughes’ visit was a planned stop on Clara’s Big Ride, an annual bike ride across the country to encourage healthy conversations about mental illness – including post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  PTSD? Isn’t that a severe mental illness for which only soldiers, police officers and paramedics are at risk? Me – suffer from traumatic events? I don’t think so. After all, I’m a firefighter. Yes, I still ride in the officer seat and wear a SCBA at calls, but I am tough. Firefighters don’t suffer from mental illness and we certainly aren’t affected by what we see, smell, hear, feel and otherwise sense at emergency scenes.  PTSD is defined by the Ontario government as an anxiety disord...
Post a Comment
Read more

Libraries are our community hubs

Originally published in the North Renfrew Times November 21, 2018 Community Hubs - by Doug Tennant A healthy local community is not built just upon an efficient and well-equipped hospital. Hospitals are important to a community as are fire halls, and police and paramedic stations. We also need a well-oiled and functioning municipal government and a vibrant commercial and industrial base upon which our residents can depend for jobs. However, the most important cornerstone for a healthy and stable community is the local public library. Andrew Carnegie knew the value of a free public library for a healthy community and he showed it by funding the building of over 2500 local libraries in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The closest Carnegie library to North Renfrew is in Pembroke, which was built in 1907 with a grant from Mr. Carnegie. We have four public libraries in North Renfrew offering an amazing spectrum of services for free to our residents. If you live in North Renf...
Post a Comment
Read more