Rights of Persons Served

We believe in a person’s basic right to a standard of living suitable for their physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and social development, including suitable food, shelter, education, health care, and safety. Based on respect for each other’s rights and basic freedoms within the community, we support the following rights.

• You have the right to the freedom from discrimination based on your family’s beliefs, the colour of your skin, whether you’re male or female, your religion, personal preferences, any disabilities, or your social status.
• You have the right to take part in decisions made about you and your future.
• You have the right to receive support that you feel meets your cultural needs.
• You have the right to have access to the community and the different services that are available to you.
• You have the right to know all of your choices before making the right one for you, in all areas of your life, including birth control, abortion, adoption, or keeping unplanned babies.
• You have the right to information concerning staff qualifications and work experience.
• You have the right to any information that Canadian Mental Health Association for the Kootenays may collect, concerning yourself.
• The right to privacy, as well as, letting others have as much, or as little information about you as you’d like.
• The right to speak privately without, the fear of revenge. In the case of information being illegal, related to a crime, or unsafe information concerning a person under the legal age, the proper authorities will need to be informed.
• You have the right to speak up for yourself, or have someone else speak up for you.
• The right to tell us your story in private, and to give us your permission to use your information, so that we may act in your best interest.
• The right to freedom from danger, physical, and emotional abuse, this includes threats of humiliation.
• The right to parent one’s own children. We believe in the right of the family to raise their children, in a manner that will keep them safe, and with the option of assistance from supportive services as needed.
• The right to volunteer and contribute your interests and talents to their fullest potential.
• The right to understand the steps taken for any investigation and decision making of wrongdoing which may have violated your rights, as well as any disagreements made by CMHA Kootenays staff, without the fear of them seeking revenge against yourself.
• The right to participate in research with your permission, but only where your privacy will not be jeopardized, and are within the guidelines of established ethical standards.
• The right to have services provided to you, within the standards of professional practice, in which your outcomes may be evaluated with you, as well as the service providers continually seek to improve their services for the individuals that they serve.
• The right to the knowledge of these rights, as well as your options.