Dr. Jim Frankish, Professor in the School of Population and Public Health, has been asked to join the Mayor’s Task Force on Mental Health and Addictions, newly created by Vancouver Mayor, Gregor Robertson, as part of efforts to address the crisis of severe, untreated mental illness in the city.
The volunteer Task Force, which will be made up of health care practitioners, mental health advocates, social workers and others is being modelled on the Four Pillars drug strategy created more in the 1990s when heroin addiction and HIV infection rates were skyrocketing in the city. “Vancouver is in a crisis situation of people with untreated, severe mental illness who urgently need care and support,” said Mayor Robertson in October. “The City can only do so much to address the growing gap in our health and social safety net. We need ongoing support and partnerships with senior levels of government and community stakeholders.”
Dr. Frankish is a clinical psychologist who focuses on community participation, mental health and population health, health impact assessment and participatory research. His current projects focus on health promotion and homelessness, homelessness and mental illness, community health and health literacy, and community partnership research. A Member of the Board of the Lookout Homeless Shelter, he is co-PI on the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s longitudinal study of the benefits of supportive housing for persons with mental health and addictions issues. He was recently recognized, along with the Vancouver “At Home/Chez Soi” team, with the 2013 BC Health Association Legacy Award.