SSO’s Access to Treatment Campaign

1. Psychiatric treatment – this includes treatment modalities such as medication, hospital-based care, and care from a psychiatrist.
2. Community services – this includes community-based mental health services such as counselling, peer support programs, case management, and services from an ACT team.
3. Social supports – this includes help with housing, employment, and income such as ODSP.

Advocating on behalf of people affected by schizophrenia has always been an important park of SSO’s work. For 30 years, we have been promoting changes to public policy which can improve the lives of people living with serious mental illness and their families. For more information on some of these initiatives, please see “Past Policy Issues” and “SSO Policy Papers”.

For the years 2008-2010, our advocacy focus is improving access to treatment. This includes psychiatric treatment, community-based mental health services and social supports. In 2008, we travelled across the province to hear from people directly affected by serious mental illness to learn more about the barriers to accessing treatment and solutions which could improve the system. In 2009, we will be taking what we have learned and into our public policy advocacy work. For more information on this campaign, click on “Access to Treatment Campaign”. The findings from our Community Forums can also be found on this page.