Mental Health Secretariat: Collaboration for public safety personnel (PSP) mental health in Ontario

Abstract

Mental health issues, and more specifically suicide, within the policing community have been a growing concern in recent years. In 2018 alone, there were nine suicides among active and retired police officers in the province of Ontario. At the time, nine suicides in one year were shocking and began to raise focused awareness of mental health challenges facing the profession. In 2021, the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General created Mental Health Collaborative Tables comprised of key stakeholders, subject matter experts, public safety personnel (PSP) with lived experience, mental health clinicians, and researchers. The Mental Health Secretariat (MHS) is responsible for supporting the tables. The MHS is accountable to the Deputy Solicitor General and has a mandate to provide a provincial action plan to address mental health issues among PSP. This article explains key observations regarding Ontario’s innovative approach to improving mental health supports for PSP and describes the perspective offered by Karen Prokopec, Manager, MHS at Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General, and her colleague, Zarsanga Popal, Senior Performance Measurement and Evaluation Specialist with the MHS, on the establishment of the MHS.