Update on the Healthy Minds Initiative

From the January 2007 edition of the Healthy Minds Cooperative's The Blue Horse Chronicles.

By Amanda Crabtree

Since my last column, the Mental Health Program and the Department of Psychiatry, have distributed two “Healthy Minds Initiative Update to the Community” letters. The most recent letter was distributed on January 12th. I hope you have received the letter and have taken the time to read through it. It gives you a sense of the work we are doing on the Initiative.

Recently, Community Mental Health began offering evening hours. All five community teams are each open one evening per week. We appreciate that offering evening hours is more convenient for people who have commitments through the day. We are trying to spread the word that evening appointments are available so, please pass the message on as much as possible.

Community Mental Health:

• Cole Harbour / Eastern HRM ~ 434-3263


• Dartmouth City Team ~ 464-3116


• Abbie Lane ~ 473-2531


• Bedford / Sackville ~ 865-3663


• Hants ~ 792-2042
  

In each of my columns, I touch on the Abbie Lane Mental Health Outpatient Department move to Bayers’ Village. In fact, in my last column, I mentioned that our goal was to relocate 55 per cent of the outpatient department to Bayers’ Village in January, 2007. Though the Mental Health Program and the Department of Psychiatry are committed to offering outpatient services at Bayers’ Village, we have adjusted our timeline. Once we have a new target date, I will be sure to include that in my column.

Moving both the Abbie Lane Mental Health Outpatient Department and the Dartmouth City Team to community locations is part of helping to create networks of mental health and related supports and services (Community Resource Networks).

A couple of closing notes:

1. We are making progress on developing a web site that will provide mental health information, education materials and referral resources (Citizen Support Web). We hope to announce a developer for the site in February and then to begin building the site soon after that, with the aim of launching it this summer.
   


2. The [Capital District] Mental Health Program will soon have a new director; Peter Croxall will begin with the Program on February 5th.

For additional information on the Healthy Minds Initiative, contact Amanda Crabtree by phoning (902) 460-7401, by email, or visit here.