TORONTO, September 1, 2022 – Every September, Addictions and Mental Health Ontario (AMHO) joins with our members to recognize and celebrate Recovery Month. Recovery Month is an opportunity to celebrate and recognize the many paths to recovery from addiction, as well as the people and organizations that make those paths possible.
In 2006 the first recovery awareness campaign was brought to Ontario. It was spearheaded by Jeff Wilbee of Addictions Ontario (AO), one of AMHO’s predecessor organizations.
In 2021 the Government of Ontario officially declared September Recovery Month through Bill 250, making this year its one-year anniversary.
This year, Recovery Month comes at a time when more Ontarians are looking for more support than ever before and as overdose rates have skyrocketed. This toll has had a devastating impact on individuals as well as the family, friends, caregivers, staff, and organizations that support them.
AMHO’s 2022 Provincial Budget recommendations, titled No Time to Wait, call on the government to address the growing mental health and addictions crisis in Ontario including by investing to reduce wait times for services, developing a health human resources strategy to support staff and organizations, and urgently responding to the growing overdose crisis. You can read more about AMHO’s specific call for action here.
“Ontario is in the midst of an opioid and overdose crisis,” said Alisha Tharani, CEO of AMHO. “Many people are struggling, including the organizations and staff dedicated to caring for Ontarians. The pandemic has resulted in a significant increase in the demand for services and now we need to increase support for mental health and addictions organizations and their staff to ensure support is there for Ontarians when they need it most.”
This Recovery Month, AMHO is continuing to call for an 8 per cent increase in baseline funding for mental health & substance use health providers and support for addiction care, recovery and overdose prevention.
AMHO represents nearly 200 addiction and mental health organizations in Ontario. It is a leading voice in the provincial conversation surrounding addiction and mental health and its membership provides support to hundreds of thousands of Ontarians each year.
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