CHAAT returns to try to get help with the Mental Health and Addiction crisis in Sault Ste Marie

CHAAT will be returning with a renewed focus on its roots. CHAAT Founder Dr. Paul Hergott and Communications Director Robert Peace along with other core supporters will be relaunching CHAAT to focus once again on trying to bring politicians to the table to deal with the serious Mental Health and Addiction crisis in Sault Ste Marie.
The group has abandoned formalizing into a non profit for the time being and focus on being free to speak out against the injustice and inhumane treatment of both the sick and the victims of the situation here in Sault Ste Marie.

“We have seen examples of governments in other municipalities coming together to demand action,” says Hergott. “We see Sudbury and Timmins and other municipalities demanding the province come to the table; we see provincial Members of Parliament speaking loudly for more dollars for their constituencies. Here we have silence,” said Hergott.

“Last week we had four deaths in one week attributed to drug overdoses. Contaminated drugs are entering the city, dealers are caught with tens of thousands of dollars of drugs and are set free to continue to kill more people. It is crazy!”

Robert Peace who has been responsible for the groups communications, videos and messaging will be relaunching their Facebook site later this week with a video message from Dr. Hergott.

“I have been passionate about this issue since arriving in the Soo a year ago and have felt we need to tell and publish the stories of a wide range of people in our community who have been affected by the mental health and addiction crisis,” says Peace. “It is through their stories that others can appreciate how this crisis has happened and how it will continue to destroy the community if not addressed. The systems are broken. We have many good people working in broken systems and a vacuum of leadership for change.”

CHAAT will be supporting an event on Oct. 25th at City Hall in an effort to push municipal leadership to lobby all levels of government for increased funding to treat addictions and mental health challenges.

“We need to show all levels of government that this City has had enough,” says Hergott. “We tried to work with government leaders to make this a win–win issue for them and they turned their backs on us, but we are back and ready to fight for the citizens of Sault Ste Marie.”

This Media Release