A new report on the state of mental health across the country says Ontario's housing crisis is "hitting people with mental illnesses especially hard."
The Canadian Mental Health Association's report also cites an "off-the-charts increase" in 2021 of youth visits to emergency departments for mental health, addictions and substance use issues, and highlights the province's "low support" for harm reduction services.
"In the aftermath of the pandemic, Ontario saw a dramatic increase in mental health and addictions-related harms, including due to opioids and alcohol. Long wait times for counselling and other mental health services continue to be a problem, especially for youth," the report titled The State of Mental Health in Canada 2024 and released on Tuesday stated, adding that the province is also facing a shortage of mental health service providers as part of a larger health human resources crisis.
"The Ontario Government has been shifting its policy support for harm reduction to bed-based addictions care," the report added.
The release of the CMHA report comes one day after the Progressive Conservative government tabled legislation that would force 10 of the province's 17 supervised drug consumption sites to close and bar municipalities and public health units from trying to get federal government approval to open any additional ones.
The government has said these sites would need to shut their doors or convert to Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs.
"The Ontario Government is not supportive of many forms of harm reduction to address substance use harms or the drug poisoning crisis," the CMHA wrote in its report. "The province’s policy focus remains on bed-based addictions care without consideration of the continuum of care needed to fully support people who are managing addiction or substance use."
Several groups including health organizations, unions and faith leaders have protested the province's planned closure of these sites, saying the move will lead to more deaths, while the health minister has insisted it won't.
Meanwhile, on access to services, the report noted that while Ontario is close to the Canadian average, "the need for better access is evident."
Emergency department visits and the hospitalization rate related to mental health, addictions and substance use concerns rose by 47 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively, in 2021, according to Ontario Health data cited in the report. But the hospitalization rate of youth aged 14–17 increased by 136 per cent.
Then there's the housing crisis, the report stated, with a shortage of housing and home and rental costs rising faster than income in many areas.
"At 18.1%, the core housing need among people reporting poor-to-fair mental health is higher than the Canadian average (15.8%)," the CMHA report said, describing core housing needs as those living in "unsuitable, inadequate or unaffordable dwelling and cannot afford alternative housing in their community."
"The housing problem is intertwined with poverty, which disproportionately impacts people with mental illnesses," the report said. "Housing is often unaffordable for a significant number of recipients of income assistance. Among those who receive disability income supports in Ontario, up to 50% report having a mental illness or substance use disorder."
The report went on to say that poverty and a lack of housing and social connection all negatively affect mental health and that supportive housing is needed for many with mental illness and addictions issues.
"However, the capital and operational funding for supportive housing in Ontario is often unco-ordinated, with different models for agencies and the private market," the report said, adding that all levels of government need to co-ordinate to boost supportive housing in the province.
Overall, the report found that Ontario spends about 5.9 per cent of its health-care budget on mental health, just under the Canadian average of 6.3 per cent.
The CMHA said this is "below what many peer countries are spending and also well short of the recommended 12%."
Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Michael Tibollo said, however, that while the report focuses on health-care spending, the government is making investments in mental health through other ministries as well.
He pointed to an announcement made earlier in the day of $32 million for a program providing mental health supports for public safety personnel such as police officers, firefighters, paramedics and correctional workers.
When it came to the hospitalization and housing numbers, Tibollo said his focus has been on the "treatment and recovery model."
"We're starting to see the impact of the Addictions Recovery Fund," he told The Trillium, referring to funding for addictions services treatment beds.
"That's really what we need to do, is we need to invest in community-based treatment, create that continuum of care," Tibollo said. "That includes the structural determinants of health that need to be addressed as well, which includes the housing, so I'm very much interested in seeing that advance, and I think that we'll see the numbers improve dramatically."
—With files from Jessica Smith Cross
