Clinical Coordinator, Rebecca Prince; Paula Reaume-Zimmer, Integrated Vice-President, Mental Health & Addictions Services, CKHA, CMHA Lambton-Kent, Bluewater Health; and Dr. Ranjeth Chandrasena, Project Research lead.
The Chatham Rotary Club gave a big boost to the ACCESS Open Minds C-K project with a $20,000 donation to assist with the furnishings and accessories of its multi-room youth space at the former YMCA site, on King Street West in Chatham.
The Chatham-Kent Youth Mental Health research project is one of 12 ACCESS OM sites across Canada and the only one in Ontario. ACCESS OM is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Graham Boeckh Foundation. The new youth hub brings together existing community partners in a “one-stop shop” for young people aged 11-25 and their families looking for mental health support.
The site has been in operation since May 2016 and there are plans to make a major expansion with renovations to the YMCA facility during the next few months.
The program dedicates at least one specially trained clinician to conducting an initial mental health evaluation in less than 72 hours. Youth don’t need a referral from a physician.
They may be directed to ACCESS by a school counselor, or an outreach worker, for instance.
Every door is the right door to receive care. If needed, the clinician will connect the young person and his or her family to high-quality, youth-friendly services in a timely fashion.
Alysson Storey, President of the Chatham Rotary Club, said, “We are making this donation to help create a youth-friendly space, designed with direct input from the ACCESS OM Youth Advisory Committee. It is our official, ‘Celebrate Canada 150’ initiative. Since our support for the TNT early psychosis intervention program at CKHA, Chatham Rotary has retained its commitment to youth mental health.”
