TORONTO – Chazz Petrella was only 12-years-old when he died by suicide on August 24.
The Petrella family is now asking for a coroner’s inquest into their son’s death.
“People need to know the system isn’t working,” Chazz’s mother Janet said. “I call them cliffs in the system that need to be addressed so that kids can get the help they need.”
She said Chazz was an energetic, intelligent and funny kid.
But there was another side to her son. Chazz was diagnosed with ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and mild anxiety in 2013.
“We dealt with several agencies and there were a lot of challenges in getting help,” she said.
Chazz was moved between more than six different agencies before taking his own life.
The statistics are grim: Close to two children kill themselves each day in Canada.
“The system failed us and failed our family,” Kimberley Moran, the CEO and president of Children’s Mental Health Ontario said.
Her daughter also attempted suicide.
“For us, the problem was really trying to navigate services and the wait list that are in the system,” she said. “We would be faced with very long wait times up to almost a year length, which, for a child is unacceptable.”
CMHO represents youth mental health agencies across the province. Moran said wait times can vary across Ontario. In some parts of the province people can get services right away but in others, they can wait over a year.
Treatment is voluntary and if a child refuses treatment, there are more barriers for the parents.
“There’s a lot of complexity to this issue of consent because you really want kids to voluntarily accept treatment,” Moran said. “There is a way you can get help but it’s a long arduous legal process that has to occur that allows you to get a court order to get your child help. And really we need to get legislative reform to address that issue.”
The Minister of Children and Youth Services was not available for comment, but sent this statement to Global News.
“Through the Moving on Mental Health strategy, we are strengthening the community-based child and youth mental health system, so that parents and youth will know what child and youth mental health services are available in their communities and how to access them. We want kids and parents to know there is immediate help close by when they are in crisis or if they have a friend who is in crisis because at the end of the day – the death of one child is one too many.”
Since sharing her story, Petrella has received many emails and calls from other families who are faced with the same challenges.
“It has motivated us to have the strength to tell his (Chazz) story.”
An event, Chazzapoloosa, will be held Saturday in Cobourg, the Petrella’s hometown. The event is hosted by friends and the community to honour Chazz’s life and continue the continue the discussion around youth mental health.
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