An Open Letter

Tonight I attended a mental health town hall hosted by Lloyd Longfield (Member of Parliament for Guelph, Ontario). It was for me… underwhelming at best. I felt the panel answered heartfelt and genuine questions with generic answers that reflected not only a misunderstanding of what people need from services, but also a reluctance to make the moves that really matter. There wasn’t enough time for all the questions to be answered, so I wanted to take the time to share mine here.

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Brenda Whiteside at one point mentioned that she wants to see empirical evidence before making any moves- and that we need to be strategic with our decisions. I wholeheartedly agree- but I do wonder at what point do we integrate empirical evidence with human stories? When will we consider qualitative evidence in the conversation, and how can academic institutions encourage this type of research?
 
By my observations, university funding is funneled straight into the sciences. But in a world where the demand for skilled social workers and counselors is growing, how does this affect our funding of the arts and humanities? If psychology, family studies, and the like aren’t going to be supported, how are we preaching to our students that we are doing our best? How are we ensuring our graduates not only graduate with the knowledge to help themselves, but to help others? How are we valuing these subjects as integral parts of a successful society?
 
The panel also mentioned the government’s “commitment” to creating more jobs for youth to alleviate stress of graduating with no job prospects (a reality I am too familiar with). After being underemployed for 2 years after graduating with an honours Psychology degree, I often wonder what we are doing to support youth with passions and academic background in this area.
 
One attendee mentioned that doing the same things over and over is not going to change anything. I felt this comment shifted the conversation into an uncomfortable area for Longfield, who seems to have little if any novel ideas. If we want people to grow beyond stigma, we need to hear more than just stats. We need to hear real stories, and find themes within them to investigate the why. We are so far past the statistic of 1 in 5. We know the stats. Now what are the stories?