Thank you.
I agree with Dr. Williams that, as I suppose we would be called a grassroots organization, funding is very difficult to obtain. A lot of funding requires us to have our charitable status, for example, which can take a while.
I've worked in community mental health specifically for quite a long time, and I know that in marginalized and racialized communities, for people to see a psychiatrist it has to be an advanced crisis, I will say. Normally what happens is that they look for information within their neighbourhoods and within their communities. They're looking for supports that are not quite as stigmatizing. When they do finally see a psychiatrist, it's at a point where things have gone on for way too long. Investing in grassroots organizations and supports will help mitigate some of those crises.
The other thing is that with psychiatrists, we do have a shortage, and it is good to increase funding in that area specifically, but most psychiatrists can't spend more than 15 minutes with a patient. As a therapist myself, the complaint I often get is, “You sat with me for a few minutes. The next thing I knew, you were giving me medication. I don't want to be on medication.” There's a disconnect in what is funded and how the people take up those services.
A lot of people also don't understand the difference between a psychiatrist, a psychotherapist and a physician. The system itself is quite confusing. They don't know that to see a psychiatrist, they need a referral, which means they need to see their family doctor first. A lot of people don't have family doctors right now. It's difficult to even get a family doctor.
So there are a lot of challenges along the way within the system itself.