This story was previously posted on StratfordToday.ca.
The Canadian Mental Health Association Huron Perth will be hosting a panel discussion jointly with the Huron-Perth Centre for Children and Youth, Shelterlink Youth Services and the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance aimed at providing insights and avenues of help for those who need it on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
Called ‘Mental Health and Addictions: Services & Stories’, the discussions will see those with lived experiences of addiction or homelessness offer their thoughts, while professionals within the sector will have information on trends, local services and other community stories.
Catherine Hardman, the chief executive officer for CMHA Huron-Perth, indicated that the generally accepted statistic of 10 per cent of the population will have an addiction issue of some kind, ranging from alcohol, drugs, gambling, pornography and other behavioural dependencies.
Information provided by Hardman indicates that alcohol, cannabis and tobacco are the leading substances that are most abused in the Huron-Perth area, followed closely by crystal meth and prescription opioids. Under the category of activities, pornography, digital dependency and gambling top the list.
“The top five substances and behavioural dependencies have remained fairly consistent over the years,” Hardman said. “We don’t consider someone as having an addictive personality or not. Often if someone experiences issues related to addiction, they have experienced trauma or some significant negative life event and don’t have healthy ways to cope, or the support necessary. The addictive behaviour provides relief to them – they are self-medicating because they don’t have other ways of managing or coping with what is happening with them.”
She went on to add that despite negative consequences, people continue to follow that path because of the positive feelings or numbing they experience. All addictions are harmful to the individual, she said, and she doesn’t believe there is anything that triggers it to become dangerous.
“Some people may stay in the addictive cycle longer than others, and there are many reasons that may happen, but they are individual to the person,” she said.
The overall goal of the panel is to raise general awareness in the community of the local needs regarding mental health, addictions, homelessness and the importance of enhancing equitable access to mental health and addiction services. Dana Bozzato, the chief executive officer of the Huron-Perth Centre, said that mental health is a key component of our overall well-being and is closely connected with our physical health.
“However, we find it much more comfortable to talk about our physical health than our mental health,” she said. “A community conversation allows everyone to come together and recognize the importance of mental health, the reality of mental health problems and mental illness, the challenges of addictions and homelessness, and it also enhances awareness of the resources available in our community.”
Part of the discussion will be aimed at the issues facing youth and their mental health challenges, and Hardman said that people between 15-24 are more likely to experience mental illness and/or substance use disorders than any other age group. She based that statement on information from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, saying that the reasons are similar to anyone who experiences issues with addiction, and that the younger someone is when they start using substances, the greater likelihood they will develop dependency in their lifetime.
“There are numerous reasons youth wills tart to use substances, such as peer pressure, the emotional and social changes they are experiencing and because their brains are still developing, they are more susceptible to developing dependence on substances,” she said. “Youth also tend to have a more positive view of drug use, as it’s not as stigmatizing with their peer group. As with anyone who experiences issues related to addiction, youth may be experiencing negative life events and trauma, which lead to their increase in use of substance or behaviour activities such as gaming.”
In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, Hardman said there were 151 youth in the school-based program.
“People get well at all stages of their life and if the youth receives treatment, they have the same likelihood of overcoming their dependency at a young age,” she said. “As with anyone, it depends on their motivation to get help and into recovery.”
The success of this event may not be immediately tangible, but Bozzato has a way of measuring it already in mind.
“I think this conversation would be successful if at least one person feels more informed about the trends in our community and feels more aware and more comfortable talking about these issues in addition to being more aware of the services that are available,” she said.
The event is free and is scheduled to run between 7-9 p.m. on October 23 at Avondale United Church. Anyone interested in attending is asked to RSVP to [email protected] by October 16.
