Rev. Canon Joan Cavanaugh-Clark met Andrew Hodson in 2017. At the time, Hodson was with the Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge (CMHA HKPR), as its only crisis worker.
It was before the establishment of the Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) in 2021, but laid the groundwork for the MCRT, which saw its first-ever OPP full-time, permanent County appointment in February of last year.
Cavanaugh-Clark recalled how Hodson, now on leave from the CMHA HKPR, and an OPP officer came to St. Paul’s Anglican Church one day. The policeman had been driving down a side road between Minden and Kinmount and saw a woman huddled around a campfire, with only a tarp for shelter and a stainless steel bowl (apparently for boiling water and cooking). “And, that’s all she had. She really had some mental health issues,” Cavanaugh-Clark recalled in a recent interview.
Apparently, the woman had a van she used to live in, but it had been towed away. So, Hodson and the OPP officer came to the church to see if they could assist the homeless woman.
“Genuine need,” Cavanaugh-Clark said of the crisis. She said Hodson and the officer had their hands somewhat tied as the woman owned the land she was living on. She was not a squatter. The church offered to try to get the woman’s van back, but the OPP officer advised against it, as the woman now had no driver’s license or insurance.
However, the church could get the woman’s belongings from the van. They did that as well as purchase a tent and cot for her to sleep in temporarily. They also bought a cooler. Three times a week, church volunteers would visit to ensure the woman had food and water to go along with the shelter.
OPP Const. Joel Imbeau is now the police-lead on the MCRT – in conjunction with CMHA HKPR. He said he calls upon Cavanaugh-Clark from time to time, though both say it is a last resort as the church has limited financial resources. However, Cavanaugh-Clark said it is within their mandate to help. One thing they will do is secure temporary housing at a local motel when needed.
“I trust Joel and the CMHA worker. I trust their judgement. Joel can call me. The relationship is really kind of unique,” Cavanaugh-Clark said.
Community paramedicine program
Chris Parish heads up the community paramedicine program for Haliburton County, and also has a relationship with the MCRT team, and Imbeau in particular.
Parish and his paramedics are often the MCRT’s first call after police have responded to an incident and received consent from a client. The paramedics work hand-in-hand with Haliburton Highlands Health Services’ Geriatric Assessment and Intervention Network (GAIN). Every Tuesday, Parish meets with the GAIN team “to talk about our mutual people.
“We go in and assess a patient. We’re the medical piece,” he said. But they do more than that. A team of two always goes in. While one assesses the patient’s health, the other can do a mental health check by, for example, seeing what the person has in the refrigerator. “Is there food? Is it rotten? I don’t know what it is when wives die. Men tend to live on chocolate milk. So, then, they complain about diarrhea,” Parish says.
Community paramedics are also looking out for the safety of the patient. They may make a referral to an occupational therapist. Perhaps the person needs grab bars. They are also assessing cognitive health. Parish said prior to Imbeau and the MCRT team taking shape, “the mental health piece kind of fell to us because there was nothing else. But honestly, we aren’t that well-trained in mental health.”
He said since Imbeau was appointed last February, “it’s just been a huge weight off our shoulders because we were doing it, but it was like, ‘are we doing everything? Should we do more? Should we do less?’ And now, we have experts (Joel and the CMHA worker) we can refer to.”
Behind the scenes, there are a lot of phone calls between MCRT partners. “What’s funny is, it all comes together at the same time. And this is Haliburton County… because Haliburton County is small town, I will get phone calls and Joel will get phone calls and neighbours will call us.”
He provides an example of someone being discharged from hospital but people being worried they won’t be able to cope at home. Folks call Parish or Imbeau to ensure someone checks in on that person.
Parish added due to the small-town nature, or perhaps the personalities of workers, they seem to be able to get consent.
Just as the MCRT wants to stop people from repeatedly calling OPP, the paramedicine program aims to keep people out of hospital. “It reduces the chance of you going back to the ER 30 per cent in the first four months, then goes down a little bit, and comes back up,” Parish said. It also reduces the time spent in hospital.
Just as the MCRT wants to stop people from repeatedly calling OPP, the paramedicine program aims to keep people out of hospital. “It reduces the chance of you going back to the ER 30 per cent in the first four months, then goes down a little bit, and comes back up,” Parish said. It also reduces the time spent in hospital.
Just as the MCRT wants to stop people from repeatedly calling OPP, the paramedicine program aims to keep people out of hospital. “It reduces the chance of you going back to the ER 30 per cent in the first four months, then goes down a little bit, and comes back up,” Parish said. It also reduces the time spent in hospital.
“Due to limited resources, it is beneficial for the client when we work together with our community partners, including the OPP, to provide the best outcomes for our seniors,” Nelson said.
Another stop Imbeau makes during the course of his work is local food and heat banks.
Judy MacDuff of 4Cs in Haliburton said she had worked with Imbeau and Parish in the past. She recalled them asking about getting food for a client who was struggling with mental health issues.
“Joel came up and packed her a box of food and took it down and then he came back a second time for her.” Although the woman had yet to register as a food bank client, MacDuff said she couldn’t say ‘no’ to the request.
Speaking to the MCRT, MacDuff said, “I think that’s a big help.”
More complex cases
Other partners Imbeau has called on include the Youth Wellness Hub operated by Point in Time in Haliburton; The YWCA shelter in Minden; A Place Called Home in Lindsay; the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto; Fourcast Addiction Services, and the list goes on and on.
Other partners Imbeau has called on include the Youth Wellness Hub operated by Point in Time in Haliburton; The YWCA shelter in Minden; A Place Called Home in Lindsay; the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto; Fourcast Addiction Services, and the list goes on and a wellness check, only to find a client who had extreme mental health issues combined with a urinary tract infection. The person lived alone, recently had their landline cut, had no means of transportation and no family. The response required paramedics, food banks, and CMHA.
“I am blessed we live in Haliburton County. I couldn’t imagine doing this job in downtown Hamilton. I don’t know how you’d do it. I don’t know how you’d support someone. I don’t know how you’d get that individuality. Get that individual “I am blessed we live in Haliburton County. I couldn’t imagine doing this job in downtown Hamilton. I don’t know how you’d do it. I don’t know how you’d support someone. I don’t know how you’d get that individuality. Get that individual to attend. Get the local partnerships. Down there (Hamilton), you don’t have time for that.” Imbeau said.
“We have a very good relationship with community partners. We also have the ability to use CMHA. which has tons of resources and facilities if clients suffer from mental illness or addiction.
