I have had the great pleasure of chairing a subcommittee of a Student Support Leadership Initiative, focused on community engagement, and true belief in the importance of the family voice and expertise in coming together to make our mental health and addiction services better.  The importance of having a “parent” chair such a committee is not lost on me, and hopefully, the innovation and forward-thinking  of this decision can be further recognized and duplicated.  For years our system has discussed the importance of family-centred care, and focusing on family and the client when developing a system that cares for those the system is charged with treating, and for years families have been saying that this is a true statement, but to date, has not been fully accomplished.  Why?  Because saying it, and doing it, are two completely different things.  Yes, there have been many studies and works done to examine what family engagement is, and how it can be achieved, but for many of these studies, they themselves have operated on model that is not true to family engagement.  They have proceeded to research work and provide reports that the “system” has created, and then designed engagement models that could be “applied” to families.  The intent is good, but process flawed.  Without asking families and clients how they would like to be engaged, or without working collaboratively with them in the development of engagement tools and strategies, is it truly engaging?  I think some of the evidence in retention, and anecdotal evidence provided by families who have been engaged utilizing some of these prescriptive models would prove otherwise.  It is another form of prescriptive applications that families are asked to adhere to, and if they don’t, then they are seen as problematic or difficult to engage. 

What is unique, and more than timely about this committee, is their commitment to true engagement.  At the first meeting, chaired by a family member, the first order of business was a discussion around how do we learn what families want, need, and would be meaningful to them.  There was a resounding consensus that our work would not be meaningful no matter how many engagement recommendations we made or developed to inform the system if they were not at the core guided by those who these recommendations and tools will ultimately target.  The whole purpose of recognizing engagement and developing these practices over the years has been to promote and improve outcomes to the children and youth, so it has made little sense to families in the past that they have not been at the core of these initiatives, and once again have been left on the side-lines while “experts” discuss and decide what is best for them. 

For me, as a family member who has lost a loved one to suicide, and as a mother who raises a child struggling with mental illness, we are finally scratching the surface to what will make a true difference.  If others follow this leadership, and if our government and our agencies who serve our children recognize this importance, we will be poised to allow our children, youth, and their families success.  Ultimately, that should be the goal, some might argue that should be the goal at all costs – I would, because I cannot place a dollar value on my child’s life or what the cap should be when spending to save it – can you?