Students struggling in wake of pandemic, more mental health resources needed: Toronto board of health

More mental health resources are needed for child and teens still suffering negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, Toronto's board of health says.

The board decided at a meeting on Monday to recommend that the city ask the province for more mental health funding to help students who require "intensive" intervention that goes beyond the scope of the school system.

Specifically, the board said the province should address wait times for treatment and increase access to care for students in distress. The board also decided to recommend that the city ask the province to work with school boards on the issue. Its recommendations will go to the next city council meeting.

At the meeting, Toronto Public Health (TPH) staff told the board that students reported higher rates of depression, an increase in screen time and a decrease in physical activity in recent surveys.

"Unfortunately, what we've seen is that a significant proportion of our young people, almost 50 per cent in fact, described that they were having moderate to severe concerns in respect of their mental health," Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city's medical officer of health, said after the meeting.

"Obviously, this is a concern for us."

But de Villa said collaborative work can be done with governments, school boards, families and the larger community to support better health.

Coun. Chris Moise, chair of the board of health, said he saw a decline in student mental health firsthand when he was a school board trustee prior to being elected councillor last year.

"Students were actually behaving erratically. They were not really socializing with one another. There was an increase in violence in schools, an increase in sexual assaults. I think it's all compounded," he said. 

Among the statistics TPH staff presented to the board members were:

The data was taken from Toronto's Population Health Profile (2023), the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (2022) and the 2022 ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.

TPH staff also told the board that food insecurity has an impact on mental health of young people and that one in every five Toronto households experienced food insecurity last year.

De Villa added: "You can see how a vicious cycle can emerge. Families, parents are stressed about being able to put food on the table. That creates household stress. For a child themselves, recognizing that they're hungry, has a direct impact on their ability to learn."

According to the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (2022), the by children and teens' screen time has increased since the start of the pandemic.