The London Community Foundation's biennial Vital Signs report is putting mental health issues within the community under the microscope.
The charitable organization unveiled the report at the YMCA in Wortley Village on Tuesday. The report examines mental health issues, zeroing in on housing, health, work, learning, and leadership in hopes of challenging stigma and addressing gaps in the delivery of care in London.
"Mental health is, no doubt, one of the most pressing issues in our community. The system is broken," says Martha Powell, president & CEO of the London Community Foundation. "It's time for a change and that time is now."
Powell says the foundation choose to dedicate the report to mental health practices after receiving an influx of grant requests related to tackling the issue.
"We saw lots of overlap and lots of duplication, and not rich collaboration between organizations," says Powell.
The report calls on the various agencies delivering assistance to those with mental health issues to collaborate and unify their resources and organizations.
There are 147 mental health and 36 addictions programs located in London and Middlesex, according to the report.
The foundation plans to start a series of public discussions on the issue on November 3.
"We want the community to keep talking about it. We invite the community out to community conversations, vital conversations that we are going to host," says Powell. "We want people to blog, talk about it at their family bbqs. We want to see change, we want to see action come out of this."
Vital Signs is a community check-up that looks at how the area is faring on issues that are key to quality of life. London is among several community foundations across the country launching Vital Signs reports this week.