Mental health advocate lauds Sudbury's 'circle of support'

A former education director and mental health advocate says moving mental health services out of the hospital and into the community is a major step forward for the city of Sudbury.

Jean Hanson, a retired director with the Rainbow District School Board, praised the opening of a new crisis centre in downtown Sudbury. The centre, which opened on Monday, will provide medical treatments and crisis intervention to anyone suffering with mental illness.

Hanson said her mother suffered with depression and would have benefited greatly from the centre.

"My mother would have had a circle of support today that didn't exist," she said.

"That would have been close to our home, easily accessible, would not have involved emergency room waits, and probably would have prevented hospitalizations."

Hanson has been a long-time advocate for mental health and is a board member of the Canadian Mental Health Association in Sudbury.