HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-11-23, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017.
Foundation aims to create addiction centre, resources
Continued from page 1
currently no treatment beds in Huron
County.
Most addicts, Heather said, do not
want to be addicts. However, due to
limited resources, the services they
need aren't being made available to
them.
"In Huron County, access to
mental health and addiction
resources for youth are limited at
best," she said. "Throughout
Tanner's struggle with substance use
disorder, we know that he tried
desperately to access support that
would help him overcome his
illness. Tanner didn't want to be an
addict; he wanted treatment and he
wanted to be well."
Heather said that she and the rest
of her family did their best to help
Tanner, but were continuously
challenged by the lack of resources
in Huron County and the
surrounding area.
"Despite their best efforts, Tanner
and his family could not access
services that would support his
treatment and full recovery in a
timely manner. The medical system
and outpatient services did not help
Tanner, the school could not and the
justice system does not," she said.
"The lack of appropriate services for
Tanner and other youth like him is
appalling. In the end, the `system'
failed Tanner and it cost him his life.
Unfortunately, this is a story we hear
far too often; youth do not have
adequate access to mental health and
addiction services in Huron
County."
John presented the foundation's
mission statement to councillors,
saying it will be their goal to support
Huron County youth aged 12 - 24
and create a culture for youth in the
area to help them combat mental
health, addiction and wellness
concerns.
"We will educate parents,
caregivers, community members and
politicians through advocacy and
presentations within the
municipalities of Huron County," he
said. "We will work with the
separate and public boards of
education so that appropriate mental
health and addiction specialists are
able to work within each school on a
full-time basis to support student
needs."
Furthermore, John said that the
foundation hopes to engage a youth
council that will provide voice and
direction to support the needs of the
Well -lit
The Blyth Business Improvement Area's annual Lighting of the Lights ceremony was held on
Saturday night, which included a visit from Santa Claus. Despite the rainy, windy conditions,
the village's Christmas tree was lit and fun was had by all that night. (Quinn Talbot photo)
Guelph men
arrested for
X-mas theft
Wingham Police responded to a
call at Cruickshank Park in the early
morning hours of Nov. 19 to a report
of persons stealing the Christmas
decorations.
Officers intercepted a motor
vehicle involved in the theft and
arrested all three occupants.
The three male adults range in age
from 18 to 22 years of age and are
all from the Guelph area. All the
decorations were recovered and will
be returned to the Wingham
Horticultural Society to again be put
on display.
The three accused will appear in
Ontario Court of Justice in
Wingham on Dec. 14.
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youth. Then, the foundation hopes to
establish concrete resources for
youth who feel they may need them.
"We will create a website and
mobile application specific to our
youth that will provide local
resources, media releases, education
by way of videos, podcasts, blogs
and online chats with trained mental
health specialists," he said. "We will
build and sustain an evidence -based
youth addiction treatment and
mental health resource and wellness
facility in Huron County for our
youth and their families."
As for the status of programming
in Huron County, John said that
further to the fact that there are no
treatment beds in the area, the
nearest communities aren't equipped
to handle Huron County youth in
need either.
He said that one in five youth in
Ontario will experience a mental
health problem, but that five in six of
those will not receive the treatment
they need.
"Youth who seek help in Huron
County are often sent to London,
where they are put on long wait lists
for services or turned away because
it's a postal code -driven service."
John also cited further statistics
that showed the need for further
resources in Huron County. He said
that 70 per cent of overdose deaths
are related to prescription
medication (not necessarily
medication prescribed to the
individual). Thirty per cent of deaths
investigated by the Huron County
OPP are related to overdoses and 25
per cent of those emergencies
involve victims under the age of 20.
In addition, four out of five 911 calls
are related to mental health.
John said that because of Huron
County's spread -out population,
compared to concentrated
populations in city centres like
Toronto, the county has to take care
of its own children. It will never
make financial sense for the
province to install these services, so
the county and individual citizens
and businesses need to take the lead.
Huron OPP Detachment
Commander Jason Younan was also
part of the presentation, but said he
was just there to support the
Stefflers. However, he could confirm
that the threat of drugs in rural
communities such as Huron County
is continuing to grow.
He said there have been obstacles
and failures along the way, but that
the more resources that are available
to the youth of Huron County to help
combat addiction, the better.
Central Huron Deputy -Mayor
Dave Jewitt said that he felt this was
an issue that demanded a "made -in -
Huron" solution and he felt council
needed to be involved.
Bluewater Mayor Tyler Hessel,
who also represents the county with
the Huron County Health Unit, said
that the issue of drug addiction and
mental health resources has been
"very topical" with the Health Unit
as of late.
Council directed staff to prepare a
report. For more information, visit
tann erstefflerfoun dati on. com.
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HURON
TOWNSHIP OF NORTH HURON
BY-LAW NO. 39-2012
REGULATION AND CONTROL
OF TRAFFIC
PART IV - OVERNIGHT PARKING - WINTER MONTHS
Between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. no motor vehicle shall be allowed to
park on any or all streets or roadways or municipal parking lots of the Township of
North Huron, between the months of November 1st to May 1st.
Violators will be fined and will be required to bear the cost of having their vehicle
towed away. The owner of any such parked vehicle will be liable for any damage to
the said vehicle or to snow removal equipment.
The fine structure for the above violation is $50.00 per offence.
PART III - DEPOSITING SNOW ON HIGHWAY OR SIDEWALK
No person shall throw, deposit, or cause to be deposited, any snow, ice or mud as to
interfere with the movement of pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
The fine structure for the above violation is $85.00 per offence.
Section 181 of the Highway Traffic Act states "No person shall deposit snow or ice on
a roadway without permission in writing so to do from the Ministry or the road
authority responsible for the maintenance of the road."
The fine for violation of Section 181 is $110.00 per offence.
By-law Enforcement
Township of North Huron
www. northhuron.ca