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Care after the Call

Oct 25, 2023

The Canadian Mental Health Association is urging the federal government to ensure that people who call the 9-8-8 crisis line receive “Care after the Call.”

THE ISSUE

Starting November 30, 2023, people in suicide or emotional crisis will have access to a national crisis line by calling 9-8-8. This line is intended to de- escalate emergencies and provide immediate crisis support. It will save lives. However, a call to a crisis line is often not enough. And it doesn’t prevent crisis in the first place.

A four-to-six-fold increase in crisis calls is expected as Canadians become familiar with 9-8-8; as such, the crisis line will be a channel for urgent, unmet mental health needs, increasing the demand for care.

By its very nature as a crisis line, 9-8-8 will only offer short-term support. Callers will frequently need follow- up care and supports that often don’t exist in their communities or are already overwhelmed by demand.

No funding has been allocated to frontline mental health providers to deliver crisis response and suicide prevention care. Time-limited funding to the Public Health Agency of Canada will only support the implementation and operation (staffing) of 9-8-8.

Without preventative or follow-up care, people who are in a mental health crisis will have nowhere to go but emergency departments, placing greater strain on our hospitals.

THE SOLUTION

$190 million annually over 5 years through the Public Health Agency of Canada to create a “Care after the Call” Fund for community-based crisis prevention and response services.

Having created a national crisis line, the federal government now has the responsibility to ensure that people will receive the care they urgently need after the call. The federal government can resolve pressures in the mental health care system that are within its jurisdiction, such as mental illness prevention and mental health promotion.

Introducing a “Care after the Call” Fund for communities is sound stewardship of federal taxpayer dollars as it will provide a cost-effective way to resolve crisis situations and prevent future crises. Investing in care before, during and after a crisis will redirect costly hospital, paramedic, and police services and lead to long-term savings and reduced pressures on health, judicial, and correctional systems. And it will save more lives.

SERVICES FUNDED UNDER CARE AFTER THE CALL WOULD INCLUDE:

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