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For kids' sake, mental health expert says schools should be reopening

With an announcement imminent, Dr. Rob Meeder says the province should do what's right for children and let them return to school
Dr Rob Meeder
Dr. Rob Meeder

Dr. Rob Meeder hopes the province does the right thing and sends kids back to school.

With a decision expected imminently, Meeder says that even if there’s not a lot of time left in the school year, the benefits for children’s mental health far outweigh any COVID-19 risks.

“Simply dismissing the last few weeks as unimportant is not fair to so many kids and parents,” said Meeder, who serves as medical director for Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care’s Family, Child and Youth Mental Health program.

“This is especially true of kids in transitional years, Grade 8 and 12, for example. We have an opportunity here to end the year on a positive note and we need to take advantage of it.”

Meeder said he’s all for the province’s gradual reopening plan, but wants schools to be part of it.

“Experts have always said schools should be ‘last to close and first to reopen,’” Meeder noted. “So why are we not doing that?

“Schools have never been significant contributors to community spread of COVID-19. The potential gains are huge and risks minimal if schools reopen for the last few weeks.”

Meeder said that as part of his work at Waypoint working with children and their mental health, he’s had some patients really struggling with online learning.

“And a lot of them have told me they've checked out,” he said. “Many parents have said, they're just not able to engage the kids anymore for longer than a few minutes. And they just kind of give up.”

“I'm worried that many kids have already given up on the school year so I'm really hoping that we can salvage some of it still. When I hear that other aspects of our economy are opening up and schools are not, obviously, that doesn't sit well with me.”

Meeder also weighed into the province’s announcement earlier Tuesday that it would provide $31 million to help improve access to specialized mental health treatment services, reduce wait lists and wait times and support the mental health and wellbeing of children and youth by addressing the increased demand for services during COVID-19.

“Some of this we already knew about, but this is certainly the formal announcement, and I'm thrilled to see more investment in children's mental health, it’s certainly going to be needed,” Meeder said.

“Many kids are not doing well. And I think we're going to see the real impact to that in the fall when kids go back to school.”

Meeder said many kids have fallen behind and their mental health has suffered due to the ongoing pandemic and subsequent school closures.

“They’ve lost a lot of supports in the community,” he said. “It’s going to take a real jump start to get these kids back in school and learning again.”

This funding is part of the government’s commitment to invest $3.8 billion over 10 years to implement the Roadmap to Wellness, Ontario’s plan to build a comprehensive and connected mental health and addictions system to serve Ontarians of all ages.

“Our government continues to make mental health and addictions a priority by making critical investments to ensure children, youth and their families have access to the supports they need to stay mentally healthy during these challenging times,” Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, said in a release that also noted how difficult the pandemi has been on young people, including unique challenges for students.

The province says the funding will stabilize and expand existing services and will provide targeted investments in specialized mental health supports, improving access to innovative solutions to support the mental health and wellbeing of Ontario’s children and youth. It will ensure child and youth clients can receive in a timely manner the appropriate care in the right setting, improving outcomes and avoiding hospital admission.


Andrew Philips

About the Author: Andrew Philips

Editor Andrew Philips is a multiple award-winning journalist whose writing has appeared in some of the country’s most respected news outlets. Originally from Midland, Philips returned to the area from Québec City a decade ago.
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