The Canadian Mental Health Association says they need more funding in order to keep staff.

Sara Dias is the executive director of the Kenora office and says they are losing health care professionals to other agencies that pay more.

“Our staff are paid 20 to 30 percent less than their peers in other areas of health care,” said Dias recently.

“We can’t do more or provide even the same level of service when we are not resourced properly.”

Dias suggests that could lead to a number of issues locally.

“Our community will longer wait lists for programs and may run on hours if we continue to lose staff.   Without the ability to offer a fair wage, we are unable to recruit the talent we need.”

Dias admits they did get a 5 percent increase in their base budget this year from the province, but that was their first increase in 11 years.