Online harassment, personal attacks, threats and more hostile public debate are adding to the pressures that already come with serving in local government. Yet elected officials often don’t have access to mental health supports through their workplace.
“We're not going to get rid of the attacks on local elected people,” said Vanderhoof Councillor Brian Frenkel, “But what we are working on is the suite of materials that will ensure that every official in British Columbia has somebody to come back to and help them through their dark times.”
UBCM is developing an online Mental Health Toolkit designed to help fill that gap by providing local leaders with practical, confidential resources to manage the pressures of public office while serving their communities.
“We want to make sure that if you do run for any elected position in the province, that you know that you've got a team behind you supporting you for when days do get tough,” he added. Frenkel has been helping facilitate a group of local elected officials over the last few years who meet regularly for peer support on these topics.
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart has shared publicly about his struggles with mental health while in office. “I think it's critical, supporting elected officials during those moments. Not all of them will face it, but we know that stats show that one in five will face some kind of mental health crisis – and that's just public at large. I want our elected officials to not be quitting, not be stepping away from public life for that reason.”
The mental health resources being developed by UBCM will an online learning platform with training modules as well as application-based counselling and Mental Health First Aid Training which helps participants to address their own mental health issues as well as offer support to people around them. Stay subscribed to The Compass to be informed when these resources are launched.