Final day of northern Ont. leaders conference addresses mental health, addictions

Delegates at the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) conference heard that challenges like homelessness and addiction aren't just affecting big northern Ontario centres -- it's affecting them all.

Meeting in North Bay, FONOM delegates wrapped up the three-event event Wednesday.

Al McNevin, the mayor of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands, said residents often travel to larger centres for treatment but are left on their own upon their return.

Big problem

"There's not a lot of follow-up resources and they can't find a place to live -- it's a big problem and it's growing fast," McNevin said.

Roger Sigouin, the mayor of Hearst, told CTV News his community also deals with these issues.

"It's always a lack of understanding, but I think we have improved. But we need to improve more to provide those better services," Sigouin said.

Holly Parsons, from Northern Policy Institute, said the issues affect big and small centres equally.

"This is a big city issue that has come to rural communities," Parsons said.

"The problem with rural communities, especially in northern Ontario, is that we often don't have the data on these communities so it's difficult to support them."

She said it's a complex issue but said it can be solved if all communities work together.