Addictions and mental health services available in North Hastings

To the Editor,

Recently, a Letter to the Editor was published (April 6) from Dr. Ashley White and Sean Popham from the Bancroft Family Health Team. They discussed important issues facing people who have mental health and substance use issues. We work closely with a Bancroft Family Health Team and commend them for their commitment to raising the issues they see, and for proposing solutions and steps that can be taken by community members.

We appreciate this opportunity to highlight and clarify the role of Addictions and Mental Health Services - Hastings and Prince Edward, In providing services in the north Hastings area. Throughout the past year we have continue to provide service to the people living in North Hastings both by telephone and virtually. Central intake and the 310-OPEN phone line have been available, and we quickly developed an open access service that enabled people requiring same-day service to receive it. In addition to existing mental health and substance use programs and services, we continue to work closely with the Bancroft Family Health Team, as they are our partner in providing a specialize service for individuals using opioids: the Opioid Management Program. Another specialized service we offer is a youth substance use program for people between the ages of 16 and 24. All of these programs have been promoted locally on the radio and through local providers.

In consultation with HPE public health, we returned to seeing clients face-to-face, in the community and in office, as soon as we could with strict safety measures in place. Our entire team understands how incredibly difficult it has been for people with mental health and substance use issues. We see it every day, and every community in Hastings and Prince Edward counties. In response, we have stretched and adapted to try to meet the needs of all the communities we support, including Bancroft.

We are also more than happy to discuss the services we provide, so that people who need the services know about them and how to access them. Over the next few weeks you'll see advertisements for our services in local newspapers. We encourage everyone who might need addictions or mental health support in the Bancroft area to contact us through the 310-OPEN (310-6736); or by calling 1-888-292-0208.

Kind regards,

Garry Laws,

CEO Addictions and Mental Health Services, Hastings-Prince Edward