Canada/Mental health: a new call line in Ottawa as early as 2024

Ottawa City Council gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for the creation of a telephone line different from 911. The new number will enable trained professionals to respond to calls related to mental health and addiction issues.

The program - similar to one already in place in some areas of Toronto - aims to deploy a new telephone number for people in mental health crisis, with its own triage and dispatch system.

In effect, the City will be creating a community-based, multi-disciplinary mobile response unit, staffed by civilians and accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Last June, in a video posted on Twitter, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe explained that this is "an alternative response" to law enforcement intervention. The project is all about compassion and caring," he explained.

For Clara Freire, Acting General Manager of the City's Community and Social Services Department, it's important to take the necessary time.

We have to make sure we can sustain the program over the long term. We need to take certain steps, [such as] hiring the agents who will train the team members," she said.

We hope to launch the project as soon as possible, but it's complicated. It's not a simple thing," remarked Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.

Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/