Canadian Mental Health Association-Edmonton region

Description

Mission Statement
Making mental health matter by promoting mental health and supporting people affected by mental illness

Vision Statement
Mentally healthy people in caring communities

Organizational Values
We are guided by the following values

Social justice
Individual and collective responsibility
Selfdetermination
Community integration
Integrity
Innovation
Excellence
Strength through diversity
Collaboration
Open communication

This is accomplished through social action public education direct service programs housing and other special agency projects The agencys operations are governed by the Mental Health Act the Health Information Act the Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act the Companies Act the Protections of Persons in Care Act and the Personal Information Protection Act

In 1918 Dr Clarence Hincks who suffered from mental illness most of his life founded the National Committee for Mental Hygiene in Canada The goals of the Committee were to fight mental illness and promote mental health In 1950 the Committees name was changed to the Canadian Mental Health Association In 1954 the Edmonton Mental Health Association later the Canadian Mental Health Association Alberta North Central Region CMHAANCR was formed Its purposes were to provide public education to act as a clearinghouse for information to cooperate with the Provincial Department of Health on services for patients discharged from mental hospitals and to promote research and training in the field of mental health

In 2003 CMHAANCR changed its name to CMHAEdmonton Region as part of a move by the Alberta Division to make more clear to the public the area the organization serves

Today the Canadian Mental Health AssociationEdmonton Region programs are supported in part by Federal Provincial and Municipal governments and by the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region The agency also receives private donations and carries out a variety of fund development activities and projects

CMHAEdmonton Region is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and offers a wide range of programs including Community Rehabilitation Outreach Services Day Program Consumer Advocacy Training Community Education and Housing True to its historical roots the agency and all of its programs concerns themselves with promotion of mental health and increasing the publics awareness of mental illness Social advocacy and consumer participation continue to be priorities

History

The Canadian Mental Health Association is one of the oldest continuing voluntary health organizations in Canada

It began existence as the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene CNCMH founded by Dr Clarence M Hincks and Clifford W Beers in January 26 1918 Hincks was very interested in the field because he had experienced bouts of mental illness

The Globe and Mail reported the groups formation under the headline quot20000 Secured for Institute Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene Started in Mrs Dunlaps Homequot

A short historical note records the purposes and objectives of the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene as tentatively described at that first meeting They included

1 War Work a Psychiatric examination of recruits b Adequate care of returned soldiers suffering from mental disabilities

2 Mental examination of immigrants postwar to ensure a better selection of newcomers

3 Adequate facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of cases of mental disease

4 Adequate care of the mentally deficient

5 Prevention of mental disease and deficiency

Hincks solicited friends and professionals to join the committee with an emphasis on those in the medical profession He already had the backing of CK Clarke Dean of Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto his persuasive address to the medical faculty of McGill won him its unanimous approval

Hincks then established a Board of Directors He asked 20 business and professional leaders to sit on the Board 18 accepted Among them were Lord Shaughnessy President of the CPR Richard B Angus Montreal financier and philanthropist Dr CF Martin Professor of Medicine McGill University Sir Vincent Meredith President Bank of Montreal and FW Molson President of Molsons Brewery Each agreed to pledge 1000 a year for three years towards the expenses of the new organization

Hincks gained further support through an innovative series of quotdrawingroom meetingsquot These were afternoon teas hosted by socially prominent women each of whom invited her wealthy and influential friends Hicks would present a speaker his friend and cofounder Clifford W Beers author of the book A Mind that Found Itself It gave a graphic account of Beers own mental illness and the treatment he received some of it rather abusive and even cruel

Hinckss extended the strategy to homes of friends in Quebec City Montreal and Ottawa It proved very successful he recruited an impressive list of potential members and donors

The first official meeting of the CNCMH was held in Ottawa on April 26 1918 A provisional constitution was adopted Dr CF Martin Professor of Medicine at McGill University was elected President Dr CK Clarke was appointed Medical Director and Dr CM Hincks was appointed Associate Medical Director and Secretary

In the fall of 1918 the Committee established itself at 143 College St in Toronto Joining Clarke and Hincks were Miss Marjorie Keyes and two secretaries Anne Abbot and Doris Secord Miss Keyes was a graduate nurse who had been associated with Dr Clarke and Dr Hincks at the OutPatient Psychiatric Clinic at Toronto General Hospital During the summer of 1918 Miss Keyes prepared for her new role by taking psychiatric studies at Smith College

Lieutenant Colonel Colin Russel soon gave the CNCMH an opportunity to undertake an important project Russel was the consultant neurologist to the Department of Soldiers and had visited many of the provincial mental hospitals which were caring for soldier patients He was particularly distressed with those facilities in Manitoba That provinces government included with the mental hospitals in the province all the institutions presently caring for the mentally disordered or defective including jails schools special homes and juvenile courts

On September 30 1918 Hincks and Keyes arrived in Winnipeg where they visited several institutions They also toured the Salvation Army Industrial Home and the Home for Incurables in Portage la Prairie and were so shocked by what they found that they immediately returned to Winnipeg to consult with government representatives The CNCMH prepared a confidential report on its findings which was submitted to the government and the Public Welfare Commission

As a result of the Manitoba Survey and that provinces quick response in implementing the recommendations other provinces became interested in having similar surveys During the next four years requests for surveys were received from British Colombia New Brunswick Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island Alberta and Saskatchewan As in Manitoba these surveys included all institutions

The CNCMH also was very involved in the plight of soldiers It became evident to Hincks that soldiers under care were not receiving adequate treatment Assisted by Miss Keyes Dr Clarke conducted a quick inspection soldier patients in 10 hospitals in the western The results of this preliminary survey were published in 1920 Highlighting the problem of shell shock and other neuropsychiatric disorders affecting so many ablebodied men helped pave the way for the work of the National Committee

The CNCMH was also interested in advocated improvements to the psychiatric screening of immigrants Dr Clarkes lectures and official reports emphasized this fact

Schools were another areas of involvement Dr Hincks and Dr Helen MacMurchy pressed for surveys to assess the extent of mental retardation and other psychiatric disorders among schoolchildren and to provide support for the establishment of auxiliary classes for the special education of such children In its first five years the CNCMH built a firm foundation for meeting the objectives established in 1918 Surveys on the care and treatment of people suffering from mental disorders were conducted in every province Mental hospitals in all provinces except Ontario and Quebec were inspected at the request of provincial governments The extent of mental disorder was found to be greater than expected and preventive programs were nonexistent In accordance with the committees recommendations provincial governments spent over six million dollars on improving facilities for the mentally ill

CNCMH surveys of schoolchildren conducted in several centres in Ontario and Quebec resulted in over 150 special classes for retarded children being established by school boards Mental Hygiene clinics were promoted and in some cases partially supported A study of the psychiatric screening of immigrants resulted in a reduction of the number of new Canadians with mental disorders The problem of quotshell shockquot and the rehabilitation of soldiers suffering from mental and nervous disorders was addressed through cooperation with DSCR and the Director General of Medical Services in the army A beginning was made on public and professional education in mental hygiene and psychiatry