HUMBOLDT — Michael Behiel, Humboldt’s mayor, has said that he has met with MLA Donna Harpauer about the lack of mental health and houseless supports available to residents in Humboldt.
“We went over everything in great detail. She expressed some of the frustrations that they face at the same time trying to deal with all this and the limitations that they face,” Behiel said. “It’s definitely not an ideal response, but it gave me a better understanding about how they are moving things forward and trying to prioritize.”
Following it, Behiel said that ideally he would like to see a facility within the city that could deal with mental health concerns on an immediate basis as well as giving shelter for houseless Humboldt residents, which he estimates to be between 25 to 50.
“I recognize it would probably have to be extremely small to start,” Behiel said. “One of the things that they talked about was the frustrations of trying to attract qualified treatment people to these areas to provide the services. If we could even bring in two or three of those to start with.”
Currently, he said it’s “almost impossible” to find shelter for a resident on a short-term immediate basis. This has resulted in him and other community members opening up their homes in the past to fill the unmet need.
“If we had something that could even house three or four people on a short-term immediate basis it would really be a benefit to Humboldt and the area.”
On Jan. 2, the province announced it would be sending 77 new residential mental health beds to community-based organizations that provide psychiatric rehabilitation services in Regina, Saskatoon, North Battleford and Prince Albert.
Following this, Behiel sent two emails to the province requesting mental health and addictions supports. The first was before the announcement was made on Dec. 13, the second was on Jan. 5.
On Jan. 12 Behiel met with other mayors in Saskatchewan and one of the shared concerns he said was the lack of mental health supports for rural cities like Humboldt and Yorkton.
Along with the meeting with Harpauer, a letter was sent from Everett Hindley, minister of mental health and addictions, seniors and rural and remote health, detailing what services they do have available dated Jan. 20. The letter was submitted publicly to council at their Jan. 24 meeting.
“The Ministry of Health funds a continuum of alcohol and drug and mental health services either directly or through the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to support individuals in their homes and in their communities,” Hindley said. “Services are located throughout the province and are available to all residents in Saskatchewan.”
In the letter, Hindley stated that the SHA reported two staff who travel within the Humboldt area and provide mental health and addictions support services to individuals in the community. Individuals can connect with the SHA by contacting the Mental Health and Addictions intake line at 1-888-989-8444. In addition, he pointed to Partners Family Services, which they provide funding for.
Hindley also announced that the Ministry of Health, along with the SHA is actively recruiting a pharmacy partner in Humboldt to distribute take home naloxone kits to individuals or friends and family members of individuals at risk of an overdose due to high risk prescriptions or recreational use.
