What is the system challenge?

In Scarborough and East York in the GTA, there can often be a lack of timely and accessible early intervention supports available for youth before they reach the point of crisis. Through focus groups, youth in Scarborough and East York identified several barriers to accessing mental health services, including services being too far from their neighbourhood, stigma, and a lack of comfort with attending ‘formal’ or structured mental health services.

Consultations with diverse groups of youth and stakeholders highlighted the need to offer low-barrier mental health supports in a non-traditional space that youth attend naturally (i.e. the local community centre or library, etc.).

What are we doing about it?

With support from the Provincial System Support Program, the Scarborough East York Service Collaborative (SEY) partnered with the Malvern Library to develop a series of Wellness Workshops for youth at The SPOT Youth Centre, in Malvern. The three foundational components of this intervention include:

1. Providing supports in a location accessible to youth: The Service Collaborative identified The SPOT at the Malvern Library as the location for this intervention. The SPOT is an accessible youth-centered, arts-based community hub co-located at the Malvern Library that offers a range of programming for Malvern youth ages 13-25.

2. Offering low-barrier Wellness Workshops: The Wellness Workshops focus on different aspects of mental health and wellbeing (e.g., stress at school, developing healthy relationships). These sessions will be facilitated by SEY SC community partners, with workshop content based on the partner agency’s area of expertise. The workshops aim to incorporate arts-based components to align with the values of The SPOT. 

3. Mental Health First Aid training program: The SEY SC is also rolling out comprehensive Mental Health First Aid for Adults who participate in youth training programs across the region to further support this intervention’s early intervention approach. This training equips individuals who interact with youth in a variety of capacities to better recognize and respond to a youth with mental health concerns

?What's this?

Full Implementation

The Mental Health First Aid training program is in full implementation, with over 350 adults who interact with youth in the community trained to date. There is significant spread in the MHFA training; course participants represented a number of different program areas, including: youth services, education, community services, public libraries, settlement services, early childhood development, employment, foster care, counselling, and public housing. MHFA training is now in full implementation, while the pilot Wellness Workshops are still be evaluated.

How do we know it works?

I have expanded my knowledge-base about the signs of mental health issues in youth and how to engage in conversations with clients

— Social worker/MHFA trainee

I use it frequently to support students experiencing different mental health issues and to direct them to different community-based supports

— Teacher/MHFA trainee
350

the number of adults who interact with children who have trained in MHFA

problem solving, communicating with others, and setting goals from the initial wellness.

— Wellness workshop evalution

Who is involved?

  • Malvern Library
  • Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities
  • Lifted by Purpose
  • Toronto District School Board
  • East Metro Youth Services
  • Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHFA)

Next steps

  • Continue engagement with local service providers to offer low-barrier, on-site mental health workshops for youth
  • Develop an orientation guide for Malvern Library staff and service provider partners working on-site at The SPOT
  • Transfer coordination of Wellness Workshops to The SPOT Advisory Group

Resources

  • Evidence brief