Addiction and mental health rural outreach services

Julie Druker | Dec 16, 2015

In an effort to spread awareness about addiction and mental health services that are available to residents in North, Central and South Frontenac, and Lennox and Addington, Melissa Switzer-Ferguson, an addictions counselor with Addiction & Mental Health Services of Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington (AMHS-KFLA), wants rural residents to be aware that she is currently offering a number of services in Sharbot Lake and in Verona. Ferguson, who is currently working with the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team at the medical center in Sharbot Lake, said that she hopes to make residents aware of the wide variety of free and confidential services that she offers. These include individual counseling for substance and behavioral addictions; group counseling services; rural mental health outreach; and other treatment groups for both mental health and addiction. Staff at AMHS-KFLA also partner with other community organizations to bring their services to those in need of them. All of these services are free of charge and confidential, and appointments can be made either through self-referrals, through family doctors, or by concerned significant other family members. While addiction services are easily available to urban dwellers, residents in rural areas, who can often tend be isolated, also face other challenges to accessing services like a lack of transportation, which can make getting the help they need an obstacle. Ferguson said that the goal of the rural outreach services are to make the services more available, while reducing stigma and letting residents know what sorts of programs are available to them.

“The ultimate goal,” Ferguson said, “is not only to raise awareness of the services that are available but to provide rural residents with equitable and accessible addiction and mental health services.” With the holiday season approaching, many people can find this time of year particularly difficult, and Ferguson said that her organization also has a crisis hotline that operates 24/7 and can be reached by calling 613-544-4229. Anyone wanting additional information about the many and varied supports and services offered through AMHS-KFLA can call 613-544-1356.