A cause close to my heart.

Many of you already know that I have a child with special needs and recently posted about finally getting an appt with Mac after waiting a year. The frustrating part is, once the kidlet is formally diagnosed I face more waiting lists in my future. Every year there a fewer and fewer programs out there to help kids with special needs. If you don't live in the GTA you could be double screwed because you have even less avenues to find help.

I got this from the OPSEU website. Send an e-mail to Premier Dalton McGuinty and Deb Matthews, Minister of Children and Youth Services. If they get enough pressure from us then maybe, hopefully they will do something about it. You know that whole 'squeaky wheel gets the grease' saying. If we don't make noise then we could be facing ever longer lists.



Send email to: dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
cc: dmatthews.mpp@liberal.ola.org
bcc: ghamara@opseu.org


Subject: Restore funding to Children’s Mental Health Services – Now!

CUT AND PASTE THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE:

Dear Premier McGuinty/Minister Matthews,

In Ontario today more than 600,000 children and youth struggle to cope with mental health challenges.

Since 1993, successive governments have “put off until tomorrow” investment in our children and youth’s future. For 14 out of 16 years, core budgets in Children’s Mental Health Services have received a zero per cent funding increase, despite a 31 per cent cost-of-living increase in that same time period.

Flat line core budgets result in operating deficits. That means programs are cut or reduced to their bare bones. Staff are laid off and vacancies go unfilled.

“Tomorrow” has caught up to us. Today, more than 11,000 children and youth now languish on waitlists. As you know, those lists are growing longer each and every day.

I urge you to give these children and youth the hope they need that there will be a healthy tomorrow: restore funding to Children’s Mental Health Services today.


Sincerely,

Name: (Insert your name here)

Mailing Address: (insert your full mailing address here)