Vanouver Civil City Commissioner Geoff Plant,
who chaired the Collaboration for change, and Michael Kirby.

At the April 28 public meeting launching the Mayors’ Forum on Mental Health, Addictions and Homelessness, Michael Kirby, Chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada described what was needed in a national mental health strategy: it must be useful, practical and “just inside the edge of political feasibility,” he advised.

By the time he gave the summary address at the end of the Mayor’s Forum on April 29, which brought together a broad range of Vancouver’s institutional and community stakeholders, he gave the exactly the same advice to those looking to solve Vancouver’s problems with mental health, addictions and homelessness.

Earlier this year, the City of Vancouver launched the Collaboration for Change, bringing together a broad-based group whose members are committed to addressing the urgent situation facing some of the city’s most vulnerable citizens: those with mental health and addictions problems who are also homeless or living in substandard conditions. Project Civil City Commissioner Geoff Plant chairs the Collaboration.

The April 28 and 29 events, both featuring keynote addresses by Michael Kirby, offered numerous of speakers, including the mayors of both Vancouver and Victoria, as well as representatives of key government, community, business and non-profit organizations who outlined the issues from a variety of perspectives. The events attracted a broad range of community members, institutions and organizations.

Kirby noted that, in order to be effective, governments must jointly and concurrently attack homelessness, mental health and addictions problems. “You can’t do these things sequentially.”

For more information on the two-day forum, please visit the Civil City website and click on the presentations or notes from the forum, as outlined in the blue highlight box in the upper right-hand side of the home page. Please visit the Collaboration pages for more information on the overall Collaboration for Change.