The Collingwood/Blue Mountains Ontario Provincial Police will be able to expand their mental health response unit through newly announced provincial funding.
On Tuesday (Oct. 10), Simcoe-Grey MPP Brian Saunderson announced the detachment would be receiving $239,898.60 to expand the local mental health response unit, which is a collaboration between Collingwood/Blue Mountains OPP, Huronia West OPP and the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital through the province’s Mobile Crisis Response Team Enhancement Grant program. Each detachment will receive $119,949.30.
“Any additional funds along these lines supporting the community and mental health are a benefit to the OPP’s ability to support the community,” Collingwood OPP acting staff Sgt. David Brown told CollingwoodToday on Tuesday. “The unit and funding itself was a collaborative effort with the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital.”
Collingwood/Blue Mountain OPP’s mental health response unit was initially formed in 2016 and works in partnership with the Huronia West OPP, with one constable paired with a Collingwood General and Marine Hospital crisis worker on each team. The two teams work together and will jump in to assist each other if call volumes become overwhelming.
The unit estimates there are about 90 teams using such a model in various police forces across Ontario.
In 2023-24, the Ontario government will be allocating more than $4.5 million to 39 municipal and First Nations police services, as well as OPP, to help strengthen Mobile Crisis Response Teams across the province.
“Today’s announcement is very good news for the residents of Simcoe-Grey,” said Saunderson in a news release. “The Mobile Crisis Response Teams work collaboratively with many partner organizations, such as the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital, the Busby Centre South Georgian Bay, Home Horizons and My Friend’s House, to ensure that those in distress are connected with the critical services they need in a timely manner.”
According to data provided by Collingwood OPP detachment commander Insp. Loris Licharson at a police services board meeting in July, the mental health response unit responded to 39 calls in April, May and June alone this year, and had 82 follow-ups with individuals following a call.
The unit also attended 45 outreach incidents, which is when a member of the unit will speak with an individual in distress and provide information on supports and services.
At that time, Licharson noted this equates to about a 25 per cent increase in mental health calls in 2022 compared to 2021, and another 12 to 15 per cent increase in 2023 compared to 2022.
At the July meeting, Licharson told board members he had applied for the provincial grant for 2023/24 to the tune of $120,000.
“It would allow us to hire one additional crisis worker which would increase our coverage from four days (per week), to seven,” he said at the July meeting. “It is our hope... it will turn into permanent funding.”
To read our full story about a day in the life of the Collingwood/Blue Mountain OPP’s mental health response unit, click here.
