WHEREAS Assertive Community Treatment ACT Teams provide community based support for adults with serious and persistent mental illness and significant functional impairments who have not connected with, or responded well to, traditional outpatient mental health care and rehabilitation services; thereby greatly improving their quality of life, overall functioning and housing stability; AND WHEREAS the intervention of ACT Teams decreases visits to the local emergency department, stays in hospitals and reduces contacts with police and correction services currently a great demand on local government resources: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial government provide additional funding to health authorities to provide ACT Teams in local governments across the province where the impact on resources and citizens warrants this type of intervention.
Ministry of Health The Province of British Columbia has made it a priority to build a comprehensive system of mental health and substance-use services across the province, making record investments through the Ministry of Health and health authorities totalling 1.3 billion annually. The Ministry is providing 20.25 million beginning in 201415 for health authorities to invest in more local programs and supports to improve care for this high needs population. This funding includes 2 million in matched funds for each of the five regional health authorities to assist in strengthening approved services for this client population as part of an overall incremental provincial approach. The services to be planned include: specialized acute care; tertiary care services; or, development of intensive community services such as ACT teams. Business plans are being developed, and health authorities have been encouraged to consult with, and obtain the support of, key stakeholders in their development. In November 2014, the Interior Health Authority announced they were establishing ACT teams in Kamloops and Kelowna and a crisis response team in Williams Lake to serve the Cariboo-Chilcotin and 100 Mile House. Additionally, in December 2014, the Fraser Health Authority also announced the implementation of an ACT team for Abbotsford and Mission, and a second ACT team for Surrey and North Delta.