Apply for funding to create a training package for mental health workers. The package would be used to train key personnel and team leaders in mental health organizations. This train-the-trainer session would be delivered in a half-day workshop. Mental health staff would take the information back to their agencies and deliver a short presentation to their colleagues.
The package would consist of a PowerPoint Outreach Presentation with speaker notes and supporting information on OCCL’s website. The training package would include information on issues identified during the research phase of this project, for example:
A focus group of clients and members of the Literacy and Mental Health Group will develop a checklist for reading and writing activities that the clients are likely to need, such as banking, getting around the city and shopping. It could be called: What I Need to Know. Clients can check off activities with their mental health worker and then take it to an intake interview in a literacy program. This would help literacy staff to focus on the specific skills that the clients need. Once this checklist has been created, it will be included in the Outreach Presentation identified in Recommendation 1.
Develop a checklist of issues and possible questions relating to responsibilities, mental health issues and behaviour in a literacy program.
Mental health workers link with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) to explore the possibility of setting up a peer support network of speakers and mentors for their clients, literacy tutors and literacy staff.
Arrange a forum to discuss issues related to literacy and mental health with representatives from the following disciplines and agencies: mental health, literacy, employment preparation and Ontario Works. One of the topics identified for discussion was boundaries and appropriate questions about a person’s mental health when it relates to delivery of services.