Mental Health Commission of Canada plans to 'answer the call' with new 10-year strategic plan

Tuesday, 23 February 2021 08:00.AM

The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) is proud to share its new strategic plan for the next 10 years.

After consulting with hundreds of partners, stakeholders, critics, and champions, this new plan, titled Answering the Call, was created in response to the diverse needs of the people who live with, work in, and study mental illness.

With its three broad strategic objectives — Inquire, Inspire, and Improve — the plan's goals include supporting and disseminating the best evidence-based research, countering stigma and calling for parity between physical and mental health, and improving access to services and supports.

"The plan builds on the foundational work of the Mental Health Strategy for Canada," said Chuck Bruce, chair of the MHCC's board of directors. "But our goal was to think bigger and bolder: to envision a plan limited only by our imagination. Answering the Call is intentionally aspirational because it's a sweeping prescription for transformational change."

"I'm particularly pleased that the plan prioritizes and amplifies lived experience," added Louise Bradley, MHCC president and CEO. "We can take the slogan 'nothing about us without us' to the next level by incorporating the experiences, insights, and wisdom of the people who live with mental illness into care protocols and models. Doing that will make the system more responsive to users' needs."

Over the past decade, the MHCC's work has helped shine a light on many of the inequities that need to be corrected and the gaps that need to be bridged. This new strategic plan offers the roadmap to move from identifying those needs to answering the call.

SOURCE: Mental Health Commission of Canada