Ottawa's annual city checkup raises mental health concerns
Last Updated: Friday, October 2, 2009 | 5:32 PM ET
CBC News
There is a high rate of suicide among young men and self harm among young women in Ottawa, the annual report card on quality of life in the city has found.
"The thing that stood out this year was the number of people who seemed to be affected by some aspect of mental illness," said Barbara McInnes, president and CEO of the Community of Foundation of Ottawa, which issued the 2009 Vital Signs report Friday.
The report, which is publicly available online, found:
- Suicide was the leading cause of death among men 20 to 44 in 2002, based on City of Ottawa data.
- The 2004 suicide rate for all men was 8.6 deaths per 100,000, compared to 3.9 deaths per 100,000 among women.
- Girls and women were more prone to self-harm, with girls aged 15 to 19 showing up in the emergency room with self-inflicted injuries at a rate of 839 per 100,000, compared to a rate of 220 per 100,000 for boys of the same age.
Many food bank users have jobs: report
Another "puzzling" finding of the report, McInnes said, was that 17 per cent of people who use food banks in Ottawa are employed.
However, overall, McInnes said, the community is healthy, with high levels of employment, education, and salaries compared to other cities.
It was the fourth installment of the report, which gathers data mainly from local sources such as the City of Ottawa and community organizations and looks at indicators such as the gap between the rich and the poor, the availability of housing, and how residents get around. This year's report contains a special section on how resident's health was affected by the 52-day transit strike last winter, with some poorer residents reporting that their health declined as a result of the strike.
The goal is to find trends and issues that may require attention.
"We like to think that people will use it to understand their city a little better," said Innes.
The foundation hopes the report will be a launching point for a series of community discussions starting Oct. 20.
The Community Foundation of Ottawa, is a non-profit organization that provides grants to local charitable organizations. It is one of 16 such community foundations across the country that issue annual report cards about their communities.
