First Mobile Clinic For Mental Health and Addiction Coming to Peterborough Area

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A custom-built retrofitted bus for mental health and addiction services is coming to Peterborough and the surrounding area announced by the Ontario Government at the Knights of Columbus Doyle Hall on Thursday.

Hon. Michael Tibollo (left), Ontario’s Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions has previously spent a decade as an addiction counsellor. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The setup will have a team of nurse practitioners, social and service workers to provide resources, support — including psychiatric — with follow-ups as necessary. The bus is expected to be operating by roughly Jan. 1.

“The first mobile health unit to be deployed in the province of Ontario is being funded by the Ontario government,” Hon. Michael Tibollo, Ontario’s Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. ”The unit will provide support and services to individuals to their local communities without having to have them come into the hospital or go to one of the other cities to get support for mental health and addictions.”

The Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (CMHA-HKPR) will be responsible for overseeing the development and operation of the mobile mental health clinic in Peterborough. They provide programming and services to the counties of Haliburton, Northumberland, Peterborough and the City of Kawartha Lakes,

The mobile unit reduces the need for people to travel to find services and can meet more clients in more places.

“Through our government’s Roadmap to Wellness we are committed to breaking down barriers to accessing high-quality mental health and addictions services where and when it’s needed,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “This innovative partnership will help to bring needed mental health and addictions services directly to individuals living in Peterborough and the surrounding areas.”

“Since the release of Roadmap to Wellness last year, our government’s top priority has been to continue making critical investments that will fill urgent gaps in mental health and addictions care, reduce waiting lists and address extensive wait times,” said Tibollo. “Through the development of the mobile mental health clinic, clients and families in Peterborough and the surrounding region will have greater access to high-quality, evidence-based care in a setting where they are fully supported on their journey towards recovery.”

A second bus will be added through fundraising efforts from the CMHA. One for Peterborough and Northumberland County and the other for Haliburton and the City of Kawartha Lakes. The Ontario government will help fund the operation of both mobile units.

"Mental health is a pandemic,” said Hon. Michael Tibollo, Ontario’s Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. “We have to remember that people's mental health is fundamental to any recovery."

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