Recently, I had the privilege of joining my colleagues in London to tour the new Carepoint Consumption and Treatment Service building. Evidence shows that consumption and treatment services provide many benefits to those who access services and benefits the neighbouring community, including reducing overdoses as well as a proven track record of successful connections to health and wraparound social services. In London, this program has reversed 713 overdoses and served over 1,000 clients. This new site will provide more opportunities to expand these programs and save even more lives.

Carepoint has had a long and difficult uphill battle, but we’ve really seen the London community open their minds and hearts, recognizing the importance of supporting marginalized people. I would like to thank Brian Lester, Dr. Sonja Burke, Megan Van Boheemen, Lily Bialas, Dr. Alex Summers, Shaya Dhinsa, Dr. Chris Mackie, Scott Courtice, Dr. Sharon Koivu, Dr. Andrea Sereda, Pam Hill, Linda Sibley, John Pare, Ed Holder, Karen Burton and many more.

After an exhaustive search for an ideal location, the retiring owners of John Bellone’s Musical Instruments, John and Moira Bellone, kindly offered their building to support the community to save lives.

What will always remain with me is Dr. Sonja Burke’s emphasis that every person has value, meeting them where they are, hugging each person and educating our community about harm reduction. Welcome to the neighbourhood.

The member raises a very important point, which is that it’s crucial to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to mental health, particularly when we’re dealing with young people. That is why we’re constantly innovating and finding new ways to treat children and youth and new ways for them to access services—the care that they need.

For example, those with acute needs can access the Step Up Step Down live-in treatment program which helps more kids through levels of intensive treatment as needed. For those who can’t or don’t want to access in-person services, we’ve invested in telehealth options specifically for children and youth, and just last month, I joined Minister Jones at Ontario Shores for the announcement that we are investing a further $4.5 million in the One Stop Talk program, which provides virtual walk-in counselling services for kids across the province.

We’re increasing access to supports, addressing the demand caused by the pandemic, decreasing wait times and improving the quality of care we provide for the children, who are the future.