Let’s talk. With a growing mental health crisis and limited over-worked and underfunded services in town, let’s talk about solutions that will save lives this Bell Let’s Talk Day. In Smiths Falls, if you want to talk to a counsellor, you can expect to wait about a year on the waitlist for provincially funded help. Once you finally reach the top of the list, you will have a time-limited “10-20 sessions" where you can talk. For someone who will have life-long challenges with their mental health, the waitlist can be a death sentence.

In fact, people in Smiths Falls are dying on the waitlist, waiting to talk. I lost a friend last year to suicide and she was on the waitlist. Suddenly the concept of “Let’s Talk” appears to be an over-simplification of a deeper problem with Ontario’s mental health care system. The resources are just not there, and the government does not consider them a priority. So, let’s talk about that too on January 29. Let’s pressure the Province to make a meaningful commitment that will enable those who want to talk year-round, a safe place to do so.   

Kelley Denham