Vancouver council set to provide $2.8M funding boost for city’s mental health services
The City of Vancouver will be providing $2.8 million in funding to the local health authority to bolster the city’s mental health services, officials announced Sunday.
Mayor Ken Sim made the announcement at a news conference, saying most of the money will be used to hire 58 mental health workers and allow for the expansion of existing programs, including the VPD's Car87/88 program.
For decades, this service has responded to mental health calls by sending a two-person team pairing a police officer in plainclothes with a mental health professional from Vancouver Coastal Health.
“This investment, along with the funding allocation from council to hire the 100 police officers, will serve to bolster Vancouver’s frontline mental health and public safety response,” Sim said, adding that more funding will be made available in future years, eventually reaching a total of $8 million.
The mayor was joined by a number of provincial and city officials including Premier David Eby and Vancouver Police Department Chief Adam Palmer.
One of the key planks in Sim's platform was a promise to hire 100 new officers and 100 mental health nurses to expand partnerships between police and health-care workers to respond to mental health emergencies. Sim, who was elected several months ago, said he would make this happen on "day one."
Eby said he was in attendance to “recognize when a city steps up” to find ways to address complex issues.
“We want our communities to be safer and we want our communities to be healthier,” Ebay said. “People in our province and across North America have seen our streets change for the worse after the pandemic.”
VCH's Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Patricia Daly said the health authority will start recruiting once the funding is approved, with new staff expected to start work by the end of the calendar year. Despite staff shortages within the health sector, she said her team is confident of being able to fill the new positions.
“We have been successful in recruiting nurses and other mental health workers who are passionate about working in the downtown eastside and inner city and our team believes we can do that for this program as well,” she said.
Council is set to vote on amotion to approve the grant on Feb. 14.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.