Mental health for youth gets boost from donors

A Family of Support: Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative exceeds goal in Manitoba

Winnipeg, MB (October 20, 2020) –The Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba announced today that donors in Manitoba have exceeded expectations by raising more than $144,000 in the A Family of Support: Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative.

“We are overwhelmed by the support and contributions from the staff of Sobeys Inc. banner stores and the store patrons who have embraced this critical need to help kids throughout our province with mental health challenges, “ says Stefano Grande, President and CEO of Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Children, youth, and families struggling with mental health challenges routinely visit children’s hospitals for support. As a result, children’s hospitals across Canada face an unprecedented demand for their services in mental health. Unfortunately, the impacts of COVID-19 have resulted in an even greater need for child and youth mental health services.Early interventions are key to preventing long-term struggles with mental illness. A national partnership to address the critical need for early interventions in child and youth mental health, A Family of Support:Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative was developed to fund specific provincial needs of 13 Canadian children’s hospitals.

In Manitoba, the funding is currently supporting the Child and Adolescent Urgent Telemental Health Consultation Service.

Roughly 45 per cent of Manitoba’s population lives in rural communities. The challenges that rural, northern and remote residents face in accessing healthcare services contribute to health equity challenges and can exacerbate mental health disparities.

“In the year 2000, we saw 300 youth per year. We now have more than 1,400 kids and teens annually needing mental health assessment at our Children’s Hospital in Winnipeg – home to the province’s only acute child and adolescent mental health services. This means a lot of travel expenditures and being away from family and friends,” says Dr. Laurence Katz, Medical Director for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at HSC Winnipeg. “This Urgent Telemental Health Consultation Service will provide the ability to assess some patients faster while also keeping them closer to their home communities and families.”

Donations to A Family of Support: Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative were made across the country through an in-store fundraising campaign from September 17 to October 1 at all Sobeys Inc. banner stores, including: Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Farm Boy, Foodland, FreshCo, Lawton’s Drugs, Thrifty Foods, BoniSoir, Co-op, Les Marché Tradition, Need’s Convenience, Pete’s Frootique & Fine Foods, Rachelle Béry, Tradition BoniChoix and Voisin. One hundred per cent of the funds raised will support local children’s hospitals and their priority mental health program.

For a full summary of all 13 programs being supported across Canada, please visit afamilyofsupport.com.

About Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba

The Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba is dedicated to ensuring that every child treated at HSC Winnipeg Children’s Hospital receives the best care possible.

Since 1971, with incredible donor support, the Foundation has raised more than $100 million to improve the lives of sick and injured children from Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, and Nunavut. Funding supports important programs that bring comfort to sick children during difficult times, the purchase of life-saving equipment, and the advancement of pediatric health research that will improve the lives of children everywhere. Learn more about the impact you make at goodbear.ca.