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4 Friday, September 1, 2023 brooklintowncrier.com Last week a congregation from the Town and Region headed to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) convention in London, Ontario. As the Durham Region representative on the AMO Board, I was honoured to represent our community in the ministerial delegations. All but one were led by Mayor Elizabeth Roy. The nuclear delegation was led by Pickering Mayor Kevin's Ashe. Here were the highlights: Delegation #1: To Hon. Sylvia Jones, Minister of Health, And Assoc. Minister Michael Tibollo We discussed two planning grants requested by each of Ontario Shores and Lakeridge Health in the context of Durham's larger health care system. We highlighted Durham as one of Ontario's fastest growing municipalities and our hospitals are operating at capacity. Moving forward with a planning grant will have a lasting impact on health outcomes for Durham residents and our ability to welcome the anticipated growth. Last year in Durham, there were Durham Delegates Attend AMO Durham Update by Regional Councillor Rhonda Mulcahy over 14,000 emergency department visits for mental health and addictions emergencies alone. Ontario Shores has sought provincial support to build a 24/7 emergency department to support patients suffering from mental health crises. This department would use the Emergency Psychiatric Assessment Treatment and Healing (EmPATH) model and could serve as an alternative destination for paramedics, resulting in diverting 10,000 calls per year. Lakeridge Health is operating at 105 per cent of funded capacity for its 886 beds and this need will only increase as Durham's population is expected to grow to 1 million by 2041. From the Region's perspective, it takes ten years to build a new hospital. We are eager to see a timely planning grant for Lakeridge to allow them to proceed on Durham's newest hospital. Delegation #2: To: Hon. Michael Parsa, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Like other cities and regions across the province, Durham is experiencing a dramatic increase in homelessness with a 67 per cent increase last year. A 2019 national study revealed that the median annual wage for homelessness support sector workers was $32,707. Many are leaving the sector due to stress similar to PSW workers during the pandemic. A province-wide Continued on page 5