Nearly 30,000 Ontario kids are trapped on mental-health waiting lists

Guest: Dr. Amy Gajaria, psychiatrist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)

Wait times of up to two years. There are not enough publicly funded therapists. Emergency rooms are overwhelmed by children in crisis. Ontario's child and youth mental health system is at a breaking point. The Mental Health Commission of Canada reports that mental illness affects more than one million children and youth in the country. And while the provincial government has stood up and started to take notice with new funding announcements this year, there remain simply not enough resources to help young people suffering from mental illness. As part of The Kids Aren’t All Right series, Kenyon Wallace – who wrote on mental health and children – speaks with Dr. Amy Gajaria.

Audio Sources: CBC News

This episode was produced by Paolo Marques, Brian Bradley and Kenyon Wallace.