The Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba (CHFM) says they are continuing their work to improve mental health care for youth in remote Indigenous communities, and doing it in a way that brings that care right to communities, so those seeking support aren’t always forced to leave home.
“Ongoing isolation and uncertainty fueled demand for child and youth mental health services in Manitoba over the past two years,” CHFM said in their release.
The foundation said it is important to get support to young people who are dealing with mental health issues as quickly as possible, but that isn’t always an option for those who live in remote communities where health care services like mental health services are often much harder to access than they are in large centers like Winnipeg.
Thanks to funding through both private donations and fundraising, CHFM said they implemented an urgent Tele-Mental Health Service in 2020 to allow children and adolescents in rural and Indigenous areas an opportunity to get mental health supports at home.
The program, which now allows youth who need support to connect with health care professionals through telephone or other virtual means, recently released data from 2021, and said that data shows that the program has allowed more youth in need or in crisis to stay closer to home and receive care.
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