Fighting for youth funding

Photo: File photo

Penticton's representative in Victoria says he believes provincial funding is fairly allocated for youth mental health services across B.C.'s communities.

The provincial government recently announced a $140-million investment into mental health through the Ministry of Children and Family Development, but little has been made public on where those funds will be allocated.

Local MLA Dan Ashton said he is advocating for bringing a fair chunk of that funding to Penticton, adding that there have been efforts to bring more resources to the city. In particular, Ashton pointed to work to get a youth centre, including mental health resources, funded by the provincial government – funding which went to Kelowna instead.

"I know they have the attention of the Ministry of Health," Ashton said, referring to the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan, which brought the proposal forward. "I know that their process was very close; unfortunately, as I said, Kelowna got the first kick at the cat. But I know out of this money, there are other sites that are being looked at."

A recent Castanet report revealed a nearly seven-fold difference in per-capita funding for youth mental health through the MCFD between Penticton and Vernon, with Vernon and the North Okanagan receiving over $1 million from the ministry, compared to about $156,000 for Penticton and the South Okanagan.

"Christy Clark's government has not been working for the youth in Penticton," said MLA hopeful Tarik Sayeed with the BC NDP. "She's neglected youth mental health for so long, which is why it's reached crisis mode. It's just not a priority for her."

Ashton was careful not to read into those numbers, indicating that he hasn't seen the numbers on funding allocations personally.

"I'm always very careful to ensure that apples to apples are being compared, not apples to oranges. If it's true, then something needs to be done," Ashton said. "From what I've seen, there's been a very fair balancing act, but ... I don't have the distribution of funds for operating and capital in front of me.

"To me, when the need is there, the government has, and should always step forward."

As it stands, Sayeed says gaps in service for youth mental health, and specifically the denial of funding for the youth centre, is "damaging to our family, and to our community."

"Every parent hopes that if their child was in mental crisis that the support would be there for them," said Sayeed. "We need to do better. We need to step up with solutions that will help our youth."

Ashton may actually agree with that sentiment – he says the new funding from the provincial government isn't coming from a vacuum.

"It has been proven, now, that there is a need, and there is people that are prepared to work towards fulfilling that need locally."

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