Manitoba related reports and initiatives:

• Rising to the Challenge:  A strategic plan for the mental health and well-being of Manitobans.  The Province of Manitoba has released its mental health strategic plan.  This 6-point strategic plan is aimed at improving the mental health of Manitobans by addressing:  mental health and well being;  access to services;  innovation and research;  social inclusion;  family participation; and workforce development.  Click here to access the full report.

• Winnipeg Regional Health Authority Community Health Assessment 2009 - 2010.  Click here to access the full report.
• KISKÂYITAMAWIN MIYO-MAMITONECIKAN Urban Aboriginal Women and Mental Health:  A report from the Prairie Women's Health Centre of Excellence on Urban Aboriginal Women and Mental Health was recently released.  The report included focus group discussions and personal interviews with 46 Aboriginal women in Winnipeg and Saskatoon.  To access the report and a policy brief, click here. 
• Manitoba Ombudsman releases her Report on Manitoba's Employment and Income Assistance Program.  Manitoba Ombudsman Irene Hamilton released a report on the Employment and Income Assistance Program of Family Services and Consumer Affairs (May 26, 2010). The report contains 68 recommendations for administrative improvement.  Click here to view the press release for the report.  Click here to access the full report.  An new version of this report with departmental responses is now available (Dec '10) - click here to access the report.
• A new report, commissioned by the Public Interest Law Centre of Legal Aid Manitoba on behalf of CMHA Manitoba Division and the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society, titled “Examination of Employment and Income Assistance and Private Market Housing Affordability for Single Persons in Six Urban Centres in Manitoba, was released on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010.  Click here to view the press release for this report.  Click here to access the report.
• Klinic Community Health Centre has unveiled a new suicide prevention campaign entitled “Reason To Live”Click here to access the press release for this campaign. To visit the Reason To Live website, click here.
• ALL Aboard Poverty-Reduction Strategy.  The Manitoba government has launched a series of public consultations on its new strategy to reduce poverty called ALL Aboard.  A feedback form has been set up on the Government of Manitoba website to provide members of the public the opportunity to comment on the strategy.  For more information on the All Aboard Poverty-Reduction Strategy, click here.
• CMHA Winnipeg would also like to commend the Provincial Government on their recent announcement regarding moving forward on the new Crisis Response Centre, this initiative is long awaited and will serve as a vital new component for crisis services in our city. CMHA Winnipeg is optimistic that this is will create a strong foundation for a more responsive healthcare system for Manitobans experiencing mental health issues. Click here for more details.
• OPEN MINDS, OPEN HEARTS - WORDS TO LIVE BY.  Suggested guidelines for media reporting on mental health. The Mental Health Literacy Network has developed media guidelines titled Open Minds Open Hearts to advance a balanced and accurate reporting of mental health issues.  Click here to access the suggested guidelines.
• On May 26, 2009, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Manitoba, in collaboration with Make Poverty History Manitoba and many other organizations, released the poverty reduction plan The view from here: Manitobans call for a poverty reduction plan. The report is based on the ideas that emerged from consultations and interviews with hundreds of individuals across Manitoba.
• Reclaiming Hope:  Manitoba's Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy.
• The final report (May 2008) from the provincial consultations of the Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Initiative (CCMHI) is now available.  Click here to access the report.

• In October 2006, The Canadian Mental Health Association, Winnipeg Region hosted a Housing Think Tank. The final report from this think tank is now available - Click here.

• The Province of Manitoba, on its website, describes and defines Mental Health Renewal.

• From Knowledge to Action:  A community forum on the housing crisis facing low income people with mental health issues living in Winnipeg. The From Knowledge to Action final report is now available. Visit our Knowledge to Action web page to view/download the report.

• In 2002, the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, and Manitoba Health launched the Co-occuring Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Initiative (CODI). This initiative was born out of the knowledge, "...that Individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders have been identified as a distinct group with special service needs" and that "it is widely acknowledged that neither the mental health system nor the substance abuse system is well organized to address the special service needs of this group." The goal of the initiative is that, "the combined system should offer a comprehensive array of services delivered in a coordinated and continuous fashion - a system where there would be NO WRONG DOOR."

• The Social Planning Council of Winnipeg has launched a "Raise the Rates" campaign to improve the circumstances of people living on Manitoba's Employment and Income Assistance program.  Click here for more information.