B.C. government to announce improvements to mental health services Thursday morning
Global News
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson will outline changes to mental health support. The announcement begins at 9 a.m.
The province will be holding a press conference Thursday morning to outline changes being made to mental health services and accessibility.
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Sheila Malcolmson, will be leading the presentation, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
Global BC will carry the announcement live at 9 a.m. in this article.
The announcement comes on the heels of expert recommendations on how to tackle chronic offenders, which focused heavily on increasing support for mental health.
Experts, including former deputy Vancouver police chief Doug LePard and health researcher and criminologist Amanda Butle, advised the B.C. government to increase mental health crisis response teams, divert accused people with serious mental disorders from the criminal system, and create secure housing units for clients with complex mental health in order to address chronic criminal offenders.
In response to the recommendations, Malcolmson said that while the provincial government has been investing and expanding mental health care, the province still has a lot more work to do.
More to come.
— with files from Global News’ Richard Zussman.