Mental Health Coalition holding information session April 28 at NSCC

The session is intended to help increase public awareness of the Coalition and to encourage greater regional participation.

On March 3, approximately 200 people from across the province attended a public forum in Halifax to express their support for the setting up of the Coalition. They represented a wide range of concerned individuals and organizations including patients/consumers, family members, health providers, provincial organizations, community agencies, elected officials, and academics.

The overall purpose of the Coalition is to raise the priority of mental illness and mental health on the healthcare agenda. The Coalition will focus on communication, consultation, implementation and advocacy.

"The emphasis of this new coalition is that it have provincial input. Mental illness and mental health issues affect everyone, directly and indirectly, however only 4 per cent of our provincial health budget addresses these issues," said coalition member Dianne Crowell.