App could bridge the gap for mental health

MacFarlane introduces bill, says technology could help those in need

Teenagers and their use of technology have taught Karla MacFarlane that help for the province’s mental health crisis might be at our fingertips.

The interim Progressive Conservative leader introduced a bill into the legislature earlier this week that would provide people in Nova Scotia with access through an app to communitybased support in mental health.

Six other Canadian provinces currently use an app on their cellphones or computers when they are in need of support.

“I heard about it from a bunch of teenagers sitting around on a weekend talking about one of their friends in need of help,” she said. “One of the youths just happened to be from Newfoundland and said, ‘We have an app in Newfoundland we can just click on.’”

MacFarlane said she took that information and investigated on her own over the past year to see how it could work in this province.

The app called www.bridgethegapp.ca puts the contacts and community supports in place for adults and youth. It provides information about dealing with things like bullying, depression, stress, anxiety and suicide.

“In truthfulness, it’s an opportunity for when you’re alone, and you don’t have that network of friends and family to go to say, ‘Hey, want to go for a coffee, I’m kind of feeling down or you want to go for a walk, I need someone to connect with right now and help me through a day.’ We all know that those random acts of kindness — we need to be doing more of that because those random acts of kindness actually can get someone through a day,” she said.

MacFarlane said the current wait time on the Department of Health’s website is from 45 days to a year so this app could be a gap service while they are waiting to connect with a person.

“It is useful information and, more importantly, it provides hope in the moment. It provides hope, and too many of our communities in our province have no psychiatrist — and we all know that; we know the struggles in that, and I think this could be one of the solutions.”

MacFarlane told her fellow MLAs in the legislature this week that some bills that are introduced are costly, but this bill is different. She said this cost to this app would be finding a reputable marketing company to put together an app and she is confident the province has resources available to apply for an app.

This app could be a complement, she said, to the Liberal government’s announcement Tuesday that it will be investing in community-based mental health supports to help those areas without quick access to outpatient clinics.

“Please go on to it — bridgethegapp — it’s under Newfoundland and Labrador, but you can look at it for Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario and, I say again, we are only happy as our saddest child. I will say that time and time again — this is for our children. It’s simple. Please give this all consideration for these reasons.”

MacFarlane said she was pleased with the positive response the bill received from the Liberal government. She said it is possible it will be moved to law amendments and on to third reading, but it if doesn’t happen during this session of the legislature, there might be other ways to get it up and running.

For example, she said, the Liberal government might have something similar already in the works and this could be a platform they can use to take it one step further. She said it could also apply to some existing policy in the departments of health or communications that could rolled out as a new app by the province.

“I don’t care whose name is on it, I just want to see it out there,” MacFarlane said.