Raise Your Voice – Contact Your MLA About Lack of Resources!
If, like us, you are concerned about the lack of resources for people with serious mental illness, we strongly encourage you to contact your provincial MLA.
The following letter is offered as a template you can use when writing to your MLA. You can add your own name and send the letter exactly as is, or you can change it or add information to reflect your own ideas.
If you don’t know who your MLA is or need contact details, go to BC gov’t MLA finder at www.leg.bc.ca/mla/3-1-1.htmMany thanks to Joan Nazif for this excellent example of clarity and brevity, and for her permission for us to use it as a template! Sample Letter(Date)Dear (Your MLA’s name here),The Vancouver Police Department has written a great report outlining some of the problems with the care and treatment of the mentally ill. The services and resources are inadequate to meet their needs. Caseloads in the mental health system are at a ratio of 1:60 when they should be 1:20. Conscientious, dedicated mental health professionals are struggling to meet the challenges of an overloaded system.
A long-term tertiary care facility is needed in Vancouver to provide treatment and stability over longer periods than can be offered in the acute care hospitals. Only Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam provides this service. When will a long-term tertiary care facility be built in Vancouver for Vancouver residents who need supervision, treatment and security on a more permanent basis?
We do not need any more surveys, studies or focus groups. We know what the needs are: More resources, more services, including housing, that are tailored to the diverse needs of the mentally ill.
Let’s do it!
(Your name)
(Your address in full including postal code)
(*Optional – your telephone and email address)
Topic area: Advocacy
