The Canadian Mental Health Association-Kelowna and District facilitates access to the resources individuals require to maintain and improve mental health and community integration, build resilience, and support recovery from mental illness.
The Initiative
Connected by 25 : This initiative focuses on the needs of youth/young adults aged 16 to 24 who are at risk of falling through the cracks as they transition to adulthood, including those ‘aging out’ of youth systems of care.
Key objectives of the project:
- Build individual capacity of youth through access to supports and services including: Youth Transitions Navigators, Housing Support and Rent Supplements, Wellness Programming (life skills, peer support, social skills), Clinical MH&SU services
- Build community capacity to ensure that young people who require support services can access them
LINC: Integrated and coordinated intake and assessment HUB (prototype established May 2014)
- Work towards systemic and policy reform to ensure that those in the 16 to 24 age group have a system of care that is responsive to their needs and a voice in the policy issues that directly affect them, including poverty, a living wage, employment, and lack of affordable housing.
Impact for Youth
- Staff support in navigating complicated youth and adult mental health systems
- Accessing the right kind of help when needed
- Preventing homelessness
- Identifying barriers experienced by youth transitioning to adulthood, resulting in new service delivery, increased inter-agency collaboration, and enhanced coordination of existing services
Results from 2 year pilot phase:
- 75% reported an increase in overall health and wellness
- 88% reported an increase in life skills knowledge and development
- Increased collaboration and coordination between service providers
Replication
- Clear vision, leadership, and shared commitment to addressing the issue
- Willingness to partner between existing organizations, move beyond status quo
- Integration of clinical and community based services to address social determinants of health
- Solid understanding of community context youth need and voice in shaping services
Supporting Documents
Contact Information
Mike Gawliuk
Director of Service Delivery and Program Innovation
250-861-3644
mike.gawliuk@cmha.bc.ca
504 Sutherland Avenue
Kelowna, BC V1Y 5X1