A new service looks at providing free transportation to youth in rural areas in need of mental health services.
The County Transport Initiative will give transitional teens and youth ages 16-25 in Lucan, Parkhill, Exeter, and Strathroy-Caradoc the opportunity to seek out help where transportation may be challenging.
"Through our collaborative work, we’ve heard from many youth that transportation is a barrier for them when trying to access mental health services when in crisis," said Romaisa Pervez, a research assistant at the social innovation lab MINDS of London-Middlesex. "Youth in rural areas find this very challenging since most services are not close to their location."
The program is being coordinated by MINDS London-Middlesex, a Lawson Research program, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) of Elgin-Middlesex, along with Star Taxi and Middlesex County through the Lucan and Parkhill Libraries.
To utilize the service, youth experiencing a crisis can connect with and be supported by the CMHA's Reach Out 24/7 line. If a worker determines a visit to the crisis centre in London is needed, they will go ahead to ensure a smooth transition from the initial interaction to the centre and back again via the cab service. Star Taxi drivers have also received training developed by CMHA regarding mental health, crisis de-escalation, as well as suicide prevention training by Living Works.
The program says it will collect feedback from the youth's experience using the service to make any necessary improvements.
Pervez adds that with additional funding, the initiative could be scaled further across the county and the surrounding areas.
"We want to see all youth in rural areas who want to access mental health services able to do so, by removing the barriers of location and transportation."
Funding for the initiative has been provided by St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation as well as individual donors in the community.