Atlantic Consultations
In April and May, ASI held 6 online consultations on Upstream Investment in Mental Health of Infants, Children and Youth: one for each Atlantic province, plus a consultation in French, and one for Indigenous communities. Our goal was to build connections in each Atlantic province to identify upstream policies and programs that promote mental health – beginning in the early years – identifying best practice, gaps and areas for potential action.
We were pleased with the enthusiasm brought to these consultations by the participants, many of whom had not heard about ASI in the past. It was a great opportunity to spread the word about what we’re doing and promote our ASI 2020 Policy Forum. Highlights from each of the consultations are being prepared and will be sent out to participants.
A summary report will also be prepared for wider distribution and presentation at the summer forum. A couple of highlights were consistent across all consultations:
- there are many good examples of upstream work going on now in communities throughout the region; however,
- policy action is needed to scale up these efforts in a systematic way, and
- governments need to work more effectively across departments and with non-government stakeholders to increase coordinated and holistic actions to promote infant, child and youth mental health;
Join us online at ASI 2020 to learn more and help us advance policies to support infant, child and youth mental health promotion in your community!