Canadian Mental Health Week is May 5th to 11th, with this year’s theme being Unmasking Mental Health.
In collaboration with Gastech Solutions Heating & Cooling, myFM is helping to “Unmask Mental Health” in our community, by highlighting some of the supports available to residents of St. Thomas and Elgin County.
This includes a partnership between the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) and the St. Thomas Police Service, that is providing crucial, on-the-spot support for residents facing mental health or addiction-related crises.
Known as the Mobile Outreach Support Team—referred to simply as “MOST”— Brooke Leeder, one of the team’s Mental Health Response workers, explains further.
Established in 2017, MOST was launched to address a growing number of mental health-related calls in the city. Rather than replacing traditional policing, Leeder said the goal is to complement it, improving outcomes by embedding trained professionals who can focus on mental health and addiction concerns.
The team operates Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., and is fully integrated within the police service.
While the nature of calls varies, Leeder said the team frequently assists people experiencing mental health or addiction-related crises, and often responds to welfare checks initiated by family or friends.
Leeder notes their presence on calls offers a different approach than what police alone can provide.
Despite the benefits, there are still challenges explains Leeder.
“People in St. Thomas are amazing,” she added. “This is a great community, and I feel really lucky to do this work here.”
For more information about local mental health supports, visit www.cmha.ca.
To view a video highlighting some of the work MOST does in our community- click here.
Written by: K. Freeman
