A provincial grant will help facilitate conversations in New Westminster about mental health, livable incomes and poverty reduction.
The City of New Westminster was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the province through the Plan H program to local governments and Indigenous communities. Funded by the Ministry of Health and administered by BC Healthy Communities, the Plan H program supports local and Indigenous governments to create healthier communities through resources, practices and learning opportunities that focus on people, society and the environment.
In New West, the funding will be used to host a mental health round-table, involving governmental and non-profit organization, with a mandate of addressing mental health or wellness in the city.
According to the province, the purpose of the event will be to create awareness, facilitate access, foster collaboration and develop relationships, and produce an inventory, listing and/or a map.
John Stark, the City of New Westminster’s supervisor of community planning, said the city and the Canadian Mental Health Association applied for a Fraser Health Plan H grant to hold a mental health round-table or a series of dialogues.
Stark said the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team has a long history in New Westminster. He added that Fraser Health recently established an Integrated Homelessness Action Response Team (IHART) and the Canadian Mental Health Association established a Peer Assisted Care Team (PACT).
“All three teams address mental health issues, including for the unsheltered,” he said in an email to the Record. “Given the establishment of two new teams and new leadership for the third team, it seemed like an opportune time to hold an event or events to build relationships, facilitate communication and foster collaboration.”
For participating city staff, he said it will also be an opportunity to learn about each of the teams, their mandates, and how to make a referral.
“City staff are currently reaching out to the teams, and the intent is to hold the event or events in fall 2023,” Stark said.
According to a press release from the province, 33 projects will be funded in 2023, for a total of $250,000 under two funding streams – community connectedness and healthy public policy.
The community connectedness funding stream is providing 18 grants for as much as $5,000 each for projects that help foster relationship-building among people in their communities. The healthy public policy funding stream is providing an additional 11 grants for as much as $15,000 each for projects that will improve the health and well-being of the community by creating or updating policies.
