Toward a renewed, integrated and coherent vision for mental health, homelessness and addiction

Background

In recent years, the Gouvernement du Québec adopted three action plans related to mental health, homelessness and addiction:

• the Plan d’action interministériel en santé mentale 2022‑2026: S’unir pour un bien-être collectif
• the Plan d’action interministériel en itinérance 2021‑2026: S’allier devant l’itinérance
• the Plan d’action interministériel en dépendance 2018‑2028: Prévenir, réduire et traiter les conséquences associées à la consommation de substances psychoactives, à la pratique de jeux de hasard et d’argent et à l’utilisation d’Internet

These action plans are coming to an end soon. However, the Québec population’s needs with respect to mental health, homelessness and addiction remain complex and worrying. These needs affect people living with these difficulties, their loved ones and their community directly and in many ways (income, health, well‑being, housing, employment, education, safety, etc.). So the Gouvernement du Québec would like to continue its efforts to address these needs, while being sensitive to the population’s expectations regarding the actions that must be taken to prevent and reduce the consequences of these issues, in particular those relating to equitable access and the adaptation of services[1] and infrastructure.

In this context, the Gouvernement du Québec would like to renew its vision by developing an up‑to‑date overview of the situation by consulting the population to establish relevant and coherent directions as well as concrete means to implement them. Therefore, the reflection must be the result of consultation, while being sensitive to the specificities of each region and each environment, and promote the active participation of the partners involved, starting with the people concerned, their loved ones and their community.

Objectives

The call for input aims to co‑construct a renewed and integrated vision for mental health, homelessness and addiction that:

• responds to the increase in needs and the complexity of the issues
• reiterates the importance of the societal nature of the issues
• promotes an integrated response to needs
• takes the specificities of mental health, homelessness and addiction into account
• promotes the active participation of partners, the people concerned and loved ones
• remains sensitive to the specificities and needs of different regions and environments
• considers people from different populations: women, men, youth, older adults, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, immigrants, First Nations and Inuit, sexual and gender diverse people, people from ethnocultural communities, from English‑speaking communities, etc.
• encourages innovative practices that could meet the needs of the main people concerned, their loved ones and their community

The call for input also aims to determine:

• the scope of the directions
• the vision and guiding principles
• the current and potential challenges
• the pitfalls to avoid
• the paths to be encouraged (which includes both innovative paths and existing solutions that should be consolidated)
• the measures to be deployed
• the targets and indicators that would allow the Gouvernement du Québec to monitor and evaluate the quality of services in particular

Procedure

In order to promote an inclusive and structured approach, several consultation strategies will take place in the coming months:

1. work meetings on different themes between representatives of ministries and government agencies
2. consultation meetings with committees led by the Gouvernement du Québec (e.g., advisory committees, consultation committees, expert committees, tables, etc.) concerning mental health, homelessness and addiction
3. consultation meetings conducted by the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux and/or other ministries and agencies with different groups of community organizations or national community organizations
4. regional consultations conducted by territorial health and social services institutions with all the partners involved
5. this call for input, which consists of a national consultation that allows everyone (organizations, researchers, citizens) to submit their ideas. The consultation includes a call for briefs and a questionnaire developed in close collaboration with experts by experience

These different strategies will allow the Gouvernement du Québec to define the directions in mental health, homelessness and addiction that mobilize the population and that can ensure better access to infrastructure and services for the people concerned, their loved ones and their community.

Together, we can make a difference! Participate in developing the future directions: share your thoughts now through the call for input. Your voice matters!

For more information

If you have any questions about the call for input, write to consultationsSMID@msss.gouv.qc.ca.

Note

1. The word services used in the context of the call for input must be taken in its broad definition. It includes services offered by the public sector, the community, municipalities, etc. It refers to health and social services, accommodation, support, accompaniment, information, advocacy, rights, reintegration, police, judicial services, etc.