For Immediate Release
13 July, 2023
NDP MHA Jordan Brown (Labrador West) is calling on government to take mental health outcomes seriously. Brown questioned the lack of transparency regarding the final evaluation of the 54 recommendations from the Towards Recovery report for mental health services in the province.
After the NL NDP and mental health advocates called for the release of the Towards Recovery Evaluation which was due in March, it was released months overdue. The evaluation lacks any real evidence or data to show what steps government took to justify marking all 54 recommendations complete.
“We see the green check marks, yet no explanation of what was done to reach these goals and how outcomes in mental health and addictions have or will be improved,” said Brown. “There is no data provided to show how this work was completed, no exact information about how the each point was satisfied to receive these completed marks. There is no accountability and that is concerning.”
The evaluation misses the mark on the importance of the social determinants of health, noting that the report’s “housing-first approach” requires access to affordable housing.
“Emergency shelter use in St. John’s doubled in a year, addictions and mental health supports in Labrador are woefully inadequate, and across the province people are finding it harder to access nutritious foods,” Brown said. “We are seeing more and more people struggle with mental wellness because they lack of the basic needs of life.”
“Until this province addresses the social determinants of health by providing accessible and public housing, addressing the increased cost of food which is fueling an increased dependency on food banks, and implementing a guaranteed basic livable income – mental health outcomes will not improve in our province,” said Brown. “People being mentally unwell due to lack of basic needs will continue to burden scarce mental health supports and resources making it harder for folks with mental illnesses to access the care they need when they need it.”
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For further information, contact Eddy St. Coeur, Director of Communications, NDP Caucus at 729-2137 (o), or eddystcoeur@gov.nl.ca