The Rotary Club was delighted to welcome Lyndon Grunewald to our meeting today. Lyndon is the Executive Director of the Medicine Hat office of the Canadian Mental Health Association. Lyndon began his presentation by speaking about the organizational structure of CMH, how they are a Federated, National body with provincial chapters and local (area) offices. He advised that the MH office handles a large rural area as well, from Oyen to the Border, from Brooks to Foremost, a lot of ground. He spoke about their funding structure, how they did not get any government funding directly, and how they work with Alberta Health Services (AHS) to put on classes and provide education. He reminded everyone that the POST thrift store is one of their funding mechanisms, and they appreciate the donations and sales that arise from that outlet.
Lyndon went on to describe the "climate" of mental health generally in the community, the impact of a lack of school and social interaction on young people and how that has affected development and stability.
He spoke about their suicide prevention programs, how they have a "keep in touch" program and school representatives to liason with students. He mentioned how "My Collective Journey" has evolved from addiction recovery and that the need for attention to depression and addiction recovery has not diminished with the end of COVID, but has continued to be a major problem.
Lyndon also spoke about the CARE team (Community Assisted Response Team), and this community is one of three across Canada where Police Officers and Community Mental Health workers collaborate in their response to mental health issues. He mentioned that they have been responding to an average of 5 calls per day, and that they are operating two teams, 12 hours per day. This is a one year pilot, which so far has shown great promise, and although it still has many aspects to be perfected, is showing that putting the right people in the right place can have very beneficial results. He is hopeful that funding through the Provincial Government will be found to expand this service across the province and the country.
Lyndon was asked and answered a number of questions at the end of the presentation, and was thanked by Mike Christie for his talk.