Chatham-Kent is home to Canada's first large-scale youth mental health hub, and organizers plan on setting an example for the rest of the country.
After being introduced last week, the Chatham-Kent ACCESS Open Minds Centre will open its doors Monday, housing mental health resources for teens and young people. The centre is the first of 12 planned facilities across Canada that is operational, and it's the only one in Ontario.
With the ACCESS Centre meant for teens and youth ages 11-25, the program has been shaped by the youths themselves. Chaz Langford is a member of the program's Youth Advisory Council. The 15-year-old deals with anxiety and depression, and says the centre will better equip kids to deal with their mental health issues.
"They can learn to live with it, not get rid of it, but learn to have it not be such a pain," says Langford. "It's still going to be there, you just learn to better cope with it."
The facility is funded by the Canadian Institute of Health and the Graham Boeckh Foundation. Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Integrated Vice-President of Mental Health Paula Reaume-Zimmer says the foundation the youth council to have input on every decision.
"I think we're all learning that's the critical piece. We have to have the voice of the youth and their families front and centre. It'll shape a model that they want to be proud of," says Reaume-Zimmer.
The 12 ACCESS Centres across the country are receiving a total of $25-million from the two contributors over the next five years.
The centre on Chatham's King St. will be open during renovations, which will be completed in September.