I know April is here, but I want to go back a couple of days to March. No, I don't want to prolong the cold season, but I do want to talk about hope, o ur theme for March. 

Imagine that --- Hope when we speak about child and youth mental health.  Considering we are undeniably in a state of crisis, hope seems a strange thing.  But, here I sit on the eve of our Provincial budget, strangely, filled with hope.  Hope that our Government is finally going to address this crisis; hope that all the media attention that has been surrounding our crisis is indeed making a difference; hope that tomorrow's budget is going to see the first change in a string of many much needed changes to create a system of care, instead of a non-system of the best people doing the best they can; hope that my daughter, and all the children and youth like her are indeed going to see a difference in their lifetime.

One definition of hope is:
the feeling that what  is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the
best.  What is wanted is a system of care for child and youth with mental illness that is family-centered, integrated, and coordinated.  What is wanted is a society in which our children and youth with mental illness are not marginalized, discriminated against, or left to fall through the cracks of a system that just does not work.  What is wanted is for stigma surrounding mental illness to be eradicated much the same way we have successfully eradicated stigma surrounding breast cancer.  What I want is the same thing every mother wants for her children - for my daughter to grow to be happy, healthy, and successful. 

Hope tells me that all these things CAN be had and that the events will turn out for the best.  I do believe that and I believe none of us can ever lose hope, but I do not believe it will happen on its own.  I do not believe that we can sit idly by hoping for the WHATS we want to turn out for the best.  I think we have to be active participants in ensuring that these events do indeed turn out for the best.  Yes, I HOPE the budget tomorrow does reflect that our Government will begin to address this issue and we will see funding to our sector; but I will also not stop there, I will be an active participant in seeing to it that the money is well-spent, that indeed it does benefit our children and youth and does provide the beginning for them to all have success, that families and those with lived experience will be at the centre of defining and addressing gaps in the current system, and being participants to the solutions.  I HOPE that our voices will be heard; but I will not stop there. I will keep speaking out against stigma, I will keep standing up for the voices of the family experts, I will keep speaking to all who need to hear this message.  Hope is important, but so is staying committed to the ensuring the events will turn out for the best. 

I HOPE all of you will join us, and work with us, to see to it that the Government does not only just begin to address the crisis, but that the Government continues to commit to and hold the futures and care of our children and youth as a priority; that we will all work together to ensure that this is an election topic, that all candidates who seek election will be asked how they plan to honour our children and youth with mental illness and how they plan to act on their commitment to them.  I HOPE that if a candidate does not have an acceptable, responsible and accountable answer for this question, they will not receive your vote.  I HOPE that the topic of children and youth mental health becomes a familiar one in our schools, and I HOPE that if it isn't, you will all join with us to see that it becomes that way.  I HOPE that our students can be educated about and taught the same way about mental illness as we teach them about other disabilities, and teach them empathy, understanding and compassion, and I HOPE that one day the endless torment our children often suffer at the hands of others who have never been asked to understand stops. I will not only HOPE for these things though, I will keep working at them, keep advocating for them, keep asking you to join us, keep uniting with those who feel the same way, and keep working until we have achieved our goals, and until we can say that these events have indeed turned out for the best.

I have a very good friend who strongly believes in what she calls her "Vision Board" - she can explain it much better than I, but the premise is that if you keep what you want most front and centre in your line of sight, and combine that with a little hope, then you have a recipe for achieving your goals.  So if we were to create a "Vision Board" depicting what we ultimately want as relates to child and youth mental health care, what would it include?  I would like to propose that those of you who have taken the time to read this blog, respond with one thing you would include on this Vision Board, and when we have gathered responses, we will create the Vision Board, based on the input from all of you, and it will be displayed during Children's Mental Health Week, a vision that depicts what we all HOPE our children and youth will have to look forward to allowing them the best possible outcomes for the events of their futures.