Mental Health - More Help Needed

While the Bell Let's Talk campaign has been successful in communicating the need to be more open about mental health issues, from my perspective it represents only that part of the iceberg that is above water. In the August 2002 RBC Letter, Robert Stewart wrote in part "It has often been said that the true test of a civilized society lies in how it treats its weakest. When it comes to the mentally ill, Canada has not done well by this test. We have shunned and ridiculed a class of people who are in no way responsible for their misfortune. We have treated them unequally, compared to sufferers from physical ills, in the spending of public money on the care and treatment of their plight."

Even though we may be making some small strides in "talking", our overall progress since attention was brought to this issue over 12 years ago has been less than significant. We can talk, we can research, we can create programs and an entire infrastructure that is there for those that ask. However, we need to do more to extend our reach to those, like the largest part of an iceberg, that remain hidden from view. Hopefully, the next 12 years will yield more favourable results in addressing what is a growing health issue.