Funding will increase staffing, provide additional physician time
Manitoba is expanding mental health and addictions services capacity at Klinic Community Health Centre.
The province is investing $428,000 to support counselling and expand mobile withdrawal management services at the centre as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
“Dealing with mental health challenges and/or addictions is difficult at any time, but it can be even harder during the pandemic,” said Audrey Gordon, minister of mental health, wellness and recovery. “This funding will enhance the mental health and addictions services offered at Klinic Community Health Centre, so Manitobans struggling with mental health or addictions issues have access to the services they need, when they need them.”
From the funding, $292,000 will go to the Klinic Mobile Withdrawal Management Services program to increase staffing, provide additional physician time and increase program capacity. The other $136,000 will go to the Klinic 24-hour Crisis and Support Services Line to support volunteer training, add system capacity, hire staff counsellors and purchase equipment so volunteers can work from home.
“Klinic is pleased to receive this additional funding to help us expand our services in these two critical programs over the next year,” said Nicole Chammartin, executive director, Klinic Community Health.
“We are seeing increased demand in both programs as a result of COVID-19’s impact on our community, and this one-time funding will allow us to answer more crisis line calls and to support more clients who want to withdraw from substances.”
The proposed initiatives support access to evidence-based mental health and addiction care, and align with the VIRGO evaluation consultant’s 2018 Improving Access and Coordination of Mental Health and Addictions Services: A Provincial Strategy for all Manitobans report (the VIRGO report), according to Gordon.
Since 2019, Manitoba has invested in 30 initiatives valued at more than $50.2 million to improve mental health and addictions services throughout the province.
