There’s a reason that certain expressions stand the test of time – because they’re as true today as when they were first coined.
Take this one, for example: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
It applies to life in a million different ways, but it’s also a phrase that governments everywhere – and certainly B.C.’s – would do well to heed.
Because when it comes to many social- and health-policy issues, the truth is that we can spend a little now – or we can spend a lot more, later.
Our story (see page 8) on the funding crunch facing a B.C. parent support program that helps families where children are facing mental-health challenges, highlights the short-sightedness of not keeping in mind the “ounce” today and creating a “pound” to be dealt with in the future.
The FORCE Society for Kids’ Mental Health helps parents navigate the often confusing child and youth mental-health system, while simultaneously offering support to the families.
That’s a fancy way of saying “making sure vulnerable kids don’t fall through cracks.”
There’s simply no doubt that early and comprehensive support for mental health issues – be it anxiety, depression or something else – can have a profound and long-term impact on a child’s life and on the child’s entire family.
The society has had to pull the plug on a service it was offering in New West and Burnaby because they simply haven’t got the funding to continue it here.
Unfortunately, kids have often come up shortchanged when it comes to funding decisions – be it health or education or sports – and those with mental-health issues are even more marginalized in countless ways. (The phrase “easy targets” comes to mind.)
It may be hard to imagine the positive domino effect that’s created when a family gets the support it needs in a critical time … but it’s truly heartbreaking to think of the same domino effect when the family doesn’t get that help at all.
