Demand for mental health and addiction supports is high in Haliburton County, with more than 55 per cent of participants in a new three-year mobile clinic program run by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) coming from the Highlands.

Jeff Cadence, manager of the program for CMHA Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge, said 60 of 108 clients served regionwide through The Road Ahead pilot since December 2021 have come from the County.

“Haliburton has been, by far, our busiest region so far. That demonstrates there’s a higher prevalence of geographic barriers people are facing in the community… a lot of people accessing our services don’t have the ability to travel long distances for support,” Cadence said.

The clinics, which run out of a custombuilt, 37-foot-long bus, have been operating every other week in Haliburton, Minden, Eagle Lake, Kennisis Lake, West Guilford and Tory Hill. It’s being funded by a $1 million grant from the Ontario government.

Anyone can qualify for service, Cadence said. CMHA conducts an over-the-phone assessment that determines the level of support required. People are then generally matched with services within two weeks. Counselling and therapy are carried out by two mental health clinicians and a mental health nurse on-site.

Once enrolled, people are treated through 10 bi-weekly sessions, though Cadence said some clients have required more long-term support.

Staff have adapted on the fly, he said, offering other supports that he says clients wouldn’t have otherwise been able to access. This includes couples therapy, health services system navigation, and general health care. He noted in the County there had been several cases of people presenting with issues stemming from undiagnosed diabetes. Virtual psychiatry is also offered, though a doctor’s referral is required.

“We also do a lot of harm reduction services for people with addictions. We have safeuse materials available, and we distribute naloxone so if people are using opioids they have protection against poisonings and overdoses,” Cadence said. “We want to be flexible and nimble. The intention of this pilot is to get a really good understanding of the needs of the communities, and to build a model that helps meet those needs and overcome existing barriers to mental health services,” Cadence said.

There are 30 clients actively receiving support in the County, which Cadence said is more than any other region. Eighty per cent of clients served in the Highlands have received counselling services.

The pilot will run until December 2024, though Cadence said demand suggests it should be adopted permanently. He hopes, one day, to have a bus and staff exclusively servicing Haliburton County.

“The situations we’ve seen, if we weren’t here providing these services, these people wouldn’t be getting any help at all. They would be living unwell, and letting their situations worsen. So that is something that’s really heartening, that we can say with confidence that we’re bringing something to our clients that they otherwise would not have access to,” Cadence said.

In addition to this pilot, CMHA served 257 individuals across the County between April 2021 and March 2022 through its Four County Crisis support program. This initiative assists individuals with serious mental illness, according to CMHA spokesperson Caitlin Morris. Cadence said the mobile program works in tandem with CMHA’s other offerings.

He said one way people struggling with their mental health can get some respite is through outdoor activity – something he recommends to all clients.

“Once we’ve addressed some of the mental health concerns, it’s the ‘what next’. We live in a beautiful part of the world, so let’s get out there and engage in it. I’d like us to do a bit more proactive or positive programming in the future, rather than just treating illness, as part of a broader look at mental health,” he said.

For more information, visit cmhahkpr.ca. To access services offered through the pilot, email tra@cmhahkpr.ca or call 705-991- 3551, or 1-888-357-1294.

Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) has unveiled a new three-year plan to bolster its mental health services and ensure all students feel safe at school.

Addressing trustees at a meeting of the board Feb. 28, superintendents Kim Williams and Jay MacJanet said student safety is the board’s number one priority, outlining several steps staff have taken in recent months to ensure local youth feel secure and protected while in the classroom.

This comes after a student climate survey conducted last year among children from Grades 4 to 12 revealed only 51 per cent of participants felt safe at school, while between 31 and 42 per cent stated they were dealing with moderate to high levels of anxiety.

“The Ministry of Education would like us to have every single one of our students feeling safe at school, and we have a three-year plan to reach that goal,” Williams said. “To help us, we need to shift the way our mental health counsellors are working in schools and with students. Rather than working individually with students, we are looking to increase the time they spend working with multiple students, either in small groups or within the classroom.

“For us to reach all our students, we need a different approach,” she added.

Starting this year, the board’s mental health counsellors will spend 50 per cent of their time coordinating with teachers and working inside the classroom, with Williams saying recent data suggests students respond better while being engaged in a group setting. Individual sessions away from the classroom will still be available for students with more extreme needs.

Director of learning, Wes Hahn, said students in Grades 7 and 8 recently completed portfolio presentations on mental health to great success.

“What it’s doing is exposing students to situations where they feel comfortable talking to adults about mental health, talking to their friends about it, and giving opportunities to mental health counsellors to interact with students and staff to help them through the difficult times they are experiencing,” Hahn said.

MacJanet said TLDSB is also working with community partners, such as Point in Time in Haliburton, to ensure students in need are provided with more in-depth supports when they’re not at school. He also noted the board had partnered with School Mental Health Ontario to provide additional resources to students to support their mental health and wellbeing.

The board is hoping to launch a mental health advisory group in the spring, consisting of teachers, principals, support staff and mental health counsellors.

“We need their input and feedback so we can get better and pivot towards the needs of our students,” MacJanet said. “This is an opportunity for our system to have a voice and show us what they’re seeing boots on the ground… tell us what we’re doing well and where we can do better.”

Hahn said the board will run another student climate survey this year.

“We want to make sure that we keep checking in with our students – that data is really valuable for us and helps identify [whether the changes we’ve implemented are working],” Hahn said.

“We are 100 per cent dedicated… to providing safe, caring and supportive learning environments for our students.”

Non-profit Places for People (P4P) has organized a community housing summit for April 5, bringing in guest speakers from across Ontario to share ideas on how to overcome one of the region’s most pressing issues.

Fay Martin, P4P vice president, said the event was borne out of necessity with the County’s existing housing inventory “falling drastically short” of what’s needed.

“I think there’s a lot of frustration because we keep going around and around on housing, but because nobody owns the problem, we never seem to get anywhere,” Martin said. “We have [KLH Housing Corporation] for social housing, but there’s nothing for all the other kinds of housing, no authority driving things.”

She said the aim is to bring together people from other areas who have had success creating housing through a variety of creative means, and finding out how it can be done in Haliburton County.

The summit will take place at the Minden Community Centre and will feature keynote and closing speakers and three panel discussions.

Jennifer van Gennip, of Redwood Park Communities in Barrie, will share how her organization built 49 affordable housing units between 2009 and 2019. Martin said the YIMBY – Yes In My Backyard – campaign Redwood pioneered has taken off provincewide. Van Gennip will provide details on how that initiative helped foster positive discussions between would-be developers and concerned citizens.

The first panel will focus on worker housing, with speakers from Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve, Sir Sam’s Ski/Ride, and Rodco Enterprise discussing how they were able to overcome labour challenges by providing accommodation for some employees.

A discussion on private housing options for seniors will feature Bill Mardimae from the Gardens of Haliburton; Anna Schmiegelow, of Oakview Lodge, on how they successfully created a co-living community; for-profit developers, John and Irene Gerber, about how they were able to bring 17 affordable apartments to Minden in the mid-to-late 2010s; and Dr. Nell Thomas on projects such as the Gardens, which provide health and wellness services on-site, having a positive impact on the public health system.

The final panel will focus on finances, with Habitat for Humanity sending a representative to unpack a new hybrid mortgage model the organization uses to make home ownership viable. Martin will discuss community bonds, and how investment at the grassroots level could help non-profits follow through on housing builds.

Lori-Anne Gagne, CEO of Victoria Park Community Homes, and Graham Cubitt of Hamilton-based non-profits Flourish and Indwell will close the day. The three organizations have helped bring thousands of affordable housing units to the GTA.

The event is being sponsored by the Haliburton County Development Corporation, Minden Hills and Algonquin Highlands, and media partners including The Highlander. Martin has invited MP Jamie Schmale, MPP Laurie Scott, and local councillors.

Martin added all levels of government, nonprofits and private developers need to work together to bolster housing stock.

In his 2021 report Baby Needs a New Home, London-based economist Mike Moffatt estimated around 1,200 new homes needed to be built in the County by 2031 to keep up with predicted population changes. KLH Housing Corporation has said it needed to build 750 affordable units in the Highlands by 2029 to meet expected demand.

“We’re already in a dangerous situation with our lack of housing. Unless we see real movement, and soon, I worry about the long-term future of our community, and our residents,” Martin said.

Nataly Mylan owns Moonlight Bay Tent and Trailer Park in Wilberforce and has heard some “heartbreaking” housing pleas over the last couple of years.

“Can I just pull into somewhere and pitch a tent? Are you sure you can’t stay open past October?” she shares, while standing in the parking lot at the entrance to Head Lake Park in Haliburton.

Mylan is organizing this year’s Sleeping in Cars event for Places for People, a fundraiser that highlights the need for more affordable housing in the Highlands.

The woman has personal experience with the topic. While she has never been homeless, she has lived rough in her distant past.

“Can I say that I’ve been cold and hungry? Yup. It was a long time ago and it was when I was just starting out. My partner and I had just bought a very small and very underdeveloped business and for the first 10 years, I remember looking through couch cushions for quarters so I could buy groceries. I remember it snowing in the house. I remember my blankets being stuck to the wall. We were so infested with mice that I had to wash the dishes before we ate.”

Mylan said it’s important to get the community to talk about affordable housing, as well as raise money for Places for People Haliburton Highlands.

“I live in Wilberforce. We have a population that could really benefit from a lot more affordable housing, A lot of people are aging out of their homes and have to leave communities. And, with the short-term rental situation, and the real estate market, we’ve just seen that exacerbated one million per cent. Our communities are really suffering. I want those people that have invested over the years to be able to stay and keep their social circles and for our communities to be healthy and prosperous.”

She added when they started Sleeping in Cars in 2019, it was a bunch of people gathering around a campfire “trying to nail down what affordable meant,” before retiring to their vehicles and trying to sleep.

She said that conversation had changed substantially in the past four years, with COVID and the increased cost of living.

It’s no longer a discussion about a minority of people at risk of becoming homeless because of life circumstances. She said it’s become far more reaching as there are people now with full-time jobs at risk of homelessness.

Mylan said she would like to see policymakers gathered around that fire this year, and politicians sleeping in their cars, trucks, on couches, or in tents.

“It (homelessness) was such a huge thing at the last election that I think it’s become more of a political issue. It would be nice to get that political support.”

Sleeping in Cars is March 24, from 7 p.m. until dawn. Pre-registration is required. See placesforpeople.ca for more information.

When the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) announced it had purchased the Frost Centre on Jan. 8, 2021, the union said the historic Highlands site was “set for new life and a major lift” as a member resource and training centre.

More than two years later, OPSEU executives involved in the purchase – Warren Thomas and Eduardo Almeida – are no longer with the union. Former president, Thomas, has retired and former first vice-president and treasurer, Almeida, was defeated in a March 19, 2022 election.

In addition, on Jan. 16, 2023, OPSEU said it had commenced legal action against Thomas, Almeida and Maurice Gabay, alleging financial improprieties and seeking damages of more than $6 million. The claims have not been proven in court.

Meanwhile, OPSEU is facing a civil lawsuit from a Muskoka-based contractor hired to do work at the site. The union has in turn filed a statement of defence and counterclaim.

OPSEU declined to comment on the civil lawsuit when contacted by The Highlander.

However, OPSEU told The Highlander on Feb. 22, it, “has put together a project team to consider options for the Frost Centre. Unfortunately, we can’t comment further at this time. Thanks in advance for your understanding.”

An OPSEU spokesperson added, “the project team … was created to review plans and options for the Frost Centre because of the change in leadership. While we don’t yet know the outcome of that process, we are committed to ensuring that all actions and decisions of the current administration are guided by the principles of transparency and accountability to OPSEU members and the communities they support.”

The union purchased the Frost Centre’s land and 21 buildings from the provincial government for $3.2 million.

Contractor and OPSEU at odds

A&C Company Inc., in a statement of claim filed Nov. 8, 2022 in the Bracebridge Superior Court of Justice, alleges OPSEU owes the contractor $755,645.13 for work done at the Frost Centre. A&C Company is also seeking $2.5 million in damages.”

OPSEU’s statement of defence and counterclaim, dated Jan. 20, 2023, and also lodged in Bracebridge Superior Court of Justice. “denies it is liable to pay the May 2022 invoices and the unauthorized invoices.”

Civil lawsuit ongoing between contractor and union

The statement of defence and counterclaim further says, “OPSEU denies that A&C is entitled to any of the damages (including consequential damages), remedies or relief claimed, and puts A&C to the strict proof thereof.” It goes on to say the claims for damages are “exaggerated, remote, and not recoverable at law.” It also, “submits that this action should be dismissed as against it, with costs.”

In the counterclaim, OPSEU is seeking damages of its own, “in an amount to be determined in advance of trial.”

According to the statement of claim, A&C Company was awarded a tender on Sept. 15, 2021 at a price of $250 per square foot. It says former OPSEU executive Almeida regularly inspected the site, directed A&C to do additional work, and that invoices, “were regularly approved in a timely manner and paid from October 2021 to May 2021, up to just under $5 million [in total payments].”

However, OPSEU says in its statement of defence and counterclaim that, “Almeida was not in charge of the Frost Centre Project and the decision-making on behalf of the executive board. To the extent any instructions were provided to A&C verbally, Almeida did not have the authority to independently direct and approve A&C’s work. A&C knew or ought to have known that approvals for work beyond the scope of the tender should have been obtained from OPSEU executive board. A&C failed to seek and obtain such approvals.”

OPSEU says it only authorized the contractor to repair the downspouts and eaves before winter, ensure there was working heating in all the main buildings, repair areas to prevent rodent access, and start demolishing the main building. “No further instructions were provided to A&C in writing with respect to the Frost Centre Project (until OPSEU directed A&C to cease work …)” it said. But A&C, in the statement of claim, said Almeida told A&C principal, Adrian Tycki, to renovate the former headmaster’s house, Kawagama Hall, two warehouses, the water purification plant, the water treatment plant, and the generator building which housed the backup generator for the entire complex. “Invoices for this additional work were rendered to OPSEU, approved and paid in full.”

The statement of claim says that following the March 19, 2022 union elections, members of the new executive board visited the Frost Centre on June 8, 2022, and told Tycki, “they were not aware of the extent of the work yet to be completed.” The claim further alleges that new first vice president and treasurer Laurie Nancekivell verbally told Tycki he should not proceed with any new work.

The claim goes on to say the contractor was asked to list the work required to keep the centre maintained, to itemize projects being worked on, and to provide an assessment of the stage of completion. The claim then says the contractor received written instructions on Sept. 16, 2022 to refrain from doing additional work without written approval. It goes on to say A&C Company sought to be paid for its outstanding invoices, but that OPSEU refused to respond to its communication attempts.

The defence and counterclaim says, “OPSEU’s new leadership has identified deficiencies with A&C’s work, approvals and invoicing practices. OPSEU pleads it has overpaid A&C and should be reimbursed for any deficient work, inappropriate billing, extra billing, unauthorized cost overruns, inflated costs, interest, fees and or charges involved or claimed by A&C.” The claims have not been proven in court.

The statement of claim says the Frost Centre’s 21 structures had been vacant for more than a decade, “and been allowed to seriously deteriorate.”

Tycki told The Highlander on Feb. 23 that he thought the site was 25 per cent complete. He said they had done mould remediation and stopped deterioration.” The next task would have been to convert the existing spaces to accommodate a member resource and training centre.

The Frost Centre story to date:

• In 1921, a ranger station was established on the west shore of St. Nora Lake by the Department of Lands and Forests.

• In 1944, the province and the University of Toronto Faculty of Forestry entered into a partnership to educate government personnel and university students.

• In 1974, Premier Bill Davis announced that the facility would be developed as a demonstration area in resources management, education and recreation and would be called The Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre.

• On July 6, 2004, the Liberals announced it was closing the centre in one week.

• On July 13, 2004 the centre closed.

• A massive public protest and rally ensued. Proponents got the government to lease, not sell, the property. The Friends of The Frost Centre is launched.

• In 2007, the Frost Centre Institute was established, but closed in 2010.

• The Ontario government of the day put the property up for sale but was unsuccessful in selling it.

• On Oct. 29, 2020 the property was again put up for sale.

• On Jan. 8, 2021, OPSEU announced it had purchased the historic site for $3.2 million.

• A contractor was hired to begin work on the site, claiming to have done $5 million worth of remediation.

• In February, 2023, the union sues three of its former executives and tells The Highlander, it is now considering options for the Frost Centre.

The HHSS Red Hawks senior boys’ basketball team clinched a playoff spot with a 28-21 win over the St. Thomas Aquinas Titans in their final game of the regular season Feb. 9.

The team put on a dominant display, capitalizing on their scoring opportunities, and playing good lockdown defence at the other end of the court.

The team played the number one seed Kenner Rams Feb. 14, fighting valiantly in a losing 62-27 effort.

Coach Karen Gervais said the HHSS Nordic team had a very successful showing at OFSAA Feb. 23 and 24.

“Our junior girls team performed very strongly overall, finishing fourth as a team in the individual distance races and fourth in their sprint relay, competing against some schools that field very large teams and ski programs,” she said.

Gervais added that Violet Humphries and Olivia Humphries both had a podium finish in their individual races in the high school division, finishing eighth and sixth respectively.

Players from the Haliburton County Huskies stopped by Fast Lane Bowling Feb. 22 to play a few frames with members of the Haliburton Red Wolves Special Olympics program.

Alex Cunningham, Nicholas Dowling, Will Gourgouvelis, Lucas Stevenson, Christian Stevens, and Josh Currie were on hand to chat with players, sign autographs, and bowl.

“The athletes were very excited to have the team come and bowl with us… everyone had a great time talking about bowling, hockey and many other topics,” said Red Wolves volunteer Tracey Pratt.

The Red Wolves bowl every Wednesday in Minden, with the season running until April 26.

Pratt said new bowlers are always welcome.

Planning is underway for the summer season, with bocce, shuffleboard, and softball on the schedule. For more information on Red Wolves activities, contact haliburton@specialolympicsontario.ca