A publicly funded agency providing mental health and addiction services in the London region is set to cut jobs and alter service delivery methods after reporting its first financial deficit.
The Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services announced on Tuesday that it recorded a $2.6 million shortfall on $52.5 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending March 31.
“We’re open, we’re accessible, and we’re serving the community,” said Pam Tobin, chief executive, who took the helm last year. “There may be increased waiting times; we don’t know what that’s going to look like yet. Some of the changes that we’ve had to make are pretty new or haven’t been implemented yet.”
To address the deficit, the agency will cut 30 full-time positions from its 700-strong workforce and reduce its leadership team from 18 to 10 members. The organization will also streamline certain programs and change how some services are delivered.
Officials attribute the deficit to the “chronic underfunding” of community-based addiction and mental health treatment as the demand and complexity of services continue to grow. They urge the provincial government to increase funding for mental health and addictions and encourage community advocacy for the same cause. Additionally, they highlight that workers in the sector are often paid up to 30% less than other healthcare workers.
The agency is primarily funded by the Ontario government, with additional support from the cities of London and St. Thomas, surrounding counties, United Way, and the London Community Foundation.
Despite receiving a 5% increase in base funding from the provincial government—the first such increase in a decade—Tobin warns that this may not be repeated. “While we’re really grateful for that, we have been told that it’s unprecedented and not to expect it again,” she said. “We don’t have our funding envelope for this year yet, but we do not anticipate an increase in our base funding, so year over year this will be a deficit.”
The organization, formed in 2021 through the merger of Addiction Services of Thames Valley and CMHA chapters in Elgin-Middlesex and Oxford, operates crisis teams, case management, counseling, addiction treatment, and housing supports across Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford, and Huron counties. Its services help alleviate pressure on police and emergency rooms.
In a typical year, the agency serves over 15,000 in-person clients and supports more than 1,000 people in housing. Last year, it provided nearly 20,000 crisis responses and handled over 43,000 calls to its crisis and support lines.
Pam Tobin emphasized that the cuts should have minimal impacts and reassured that clients remain the top priority. “Clients are our number one priority, and we want to ensure that we’re having a minimal impact on service delivery,” she said.
The agency’s deficit situation reflects broader funding challenges faced by other provincially funded bodies in the London area, including the Thames Valley District School Board and the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex.
London North Centre NDP MPP Terence Kernaghan described the shortfall as a “crisis” resulting from government actions. “A $2.6 million deficit is really quite disturbing, and the fact that 30 full-time jobs will be lost is unacceptable,” Kernaghan said. “Across our city, we see the struggles that people are having with mental health and homelessness.”
Kernaghan calls for emergency funding and wage parity across health care sectors. Criticizing the provincial government, he noted, “The province has kept its foot on the neck of our public institutions and then has the audacity to ask them why they can’t breathe. They cut, they underfund, they disrespect workers, and it’s simply unacceptable.”
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