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 Centre for Addictionand Mental Health |
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Easy Access to Information on Addictions and Mental HealthCAMH ConnexionsSpring 2006 By Deborah MacKenzie
The R. Samuel McLaughlin Addiction and Mental Health Information Centre – a CAMH initiative – is much more than just bricks and mortar on the east side of Toronto’s Dufferin Street near King Street West. Created in 2003 by a $1 million donation from the R. Samuel McLaughlin Foundation, this information centre is for people and their families to have access to timely and relevant information and support on addictions and mental health. The McLaughlin Centre occupies both real and virtual space through its four programs: • a walk-in storefront at 219 Dufferin St., Suite 3B operating Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. • a telephone information line at 1 800 463-6273 or 416 595-6111 in Toronto staffed 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday • Internet resources at www.camh.net/McLaughlin and email at mclaughlininformation@camh.net • a telephone support line (same number as above) for those struggling with mental health and/or addiction issues. Hours are 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Friday. Staff members working on the telephone information line know they cannot afford to have a bad day. After all, the caller on the other end of the line may be having the worst day of their lives. Staff know that it takes courage for a person or a family member to pick up that phone and ask for help. Being ready to help means having access to information and treatment, experience and the people skills to put these to the best use. They are special people doing a special job. The addictions and mental health “systems” in Ontario are large and complicated. The McLaughlin Centre staff see their role as both helping the caller navigate these complexities while still empowering them with as much choice as possible. The hope is that at the end of the call, the caller will be able to confidently take the next step. The McLaughlin Information Centre networks with outside resources like the Drug and Alcohol Registry of Treatment (DART), the Ontario Problem Gambling Helpline and the newly formed Mental Health Service Information Ontario, which provides a toll-free, province-wide treatment and referral service about addictions, gambling and mental health. Callers are not confined to those directly affected by mental illness and addictions. The information line often takes calls from law and healthcare professionals, teachers, as well as from students of all ages. Recorded messages on a variety of mental health and addiction topics are available in 16 languages at any time, in addition to English and French. For those who prefer the Internet, there is a section of the CAMH website, www.camh.net/McLaughlin, devoted to information material on a variety of topics available for downloading. Some of these are accessible in 23 different languages. Acquiring information in this way has increased enormously since its introduction in 2003, with an average of 21,000 downloads per month of pamphlets, articles, brochures and fact sheets. The website has information on everything from helping parents talk to their children about the safe use of medicine, to information for women dealing with problem gambling. Although phone and Internet inquiries are the preferred methods of contact for those using the McLaughlin Centre, the storefront location welcomes drop-in visitors with friendly faces and a multitude of printed materials on mental health and addictions in a variety of languages. Sometimes people affected, directly or indirectly, by mental illness and/or addiction are not looking so much for information as empathy. This is where the telephone support line program has a role. It is staffed by volunteers – many of whom have themselves encountered mental illness and/or addictions or others who have an interest in these fields. These volunteers want to contribute positively to their community, and on the support line they offer a friendly voice and an open mind at the end of the line. The support line is not a crisis line but provides an empathetic listener to those who want to be heard. Callers are most often people dealing with mental illness and/or addictions, however friends and family members, perhaps stressed by a loved one’s problem, also call. Eventually the centre will relocate and be integrated into CAMH’s planned redevelopment of our Queen Street West site. One thing for sure, wherever its walls may be physically situated, the McLaughlin Centre will always offer information, compassion and support – the building blocks of a healthier and more empowered society – cemented by the caring and determination of its volunteers and staff.
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Last updated: May 25, 2006 2:34 PM Published: July 01, 2011 7:05 AM ID#20943-R |