Growing up can be tough on any kid, but for GLBTTQ youth, it can be even more challenging. That’s where Building Capacity for GLBTTQ Youth Mental Health comes in. The program runs out of the Centretown Community Health Centre, and provides specialized counseling to youth who struggle with their mental health.
The Building Capacity program is one of seven initiatives recently selected by the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario as recipients of the 2014 CHEO Healthy Kids Awards. The awards were given out March 27 at the Funhaven Family Entertainment Centre. Several hundred guests attended the event, including Laureen Harper, the wife of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Mayor Jim Watson.
“Youth mental health is not receiving the attention it should and that’s why this is so important,” says Judie McConnery, director of mental health and addiction at the Centretown Community Health Centre. “Some people are paying attention now.”
McConnery says GLBTTQ youth mental health programs are underfunded and short-staffed.
“Suicide rates for queer and trans-identified teens are higher than youth that are not questioning their gender identity or sexual orientation,” says McConnery. “Having access to mental health counseling is extremely important to reduce these rates and improve quality of life.”
McConnery says the program has one counselor and a waitlist of between two and three months to see him.
Dennise Albrecht, director of partnerships and advocacy at CHEO, says programs such as Building Capacity for GLBTTQ Youth serve as models for other areas in the healthcare system. She says out of over 100 applicants in six categories, this program stood out.
“We know that a lot of the work that helps youth develop in a healthy, resilient way, happens in the community,” says Albrecht. “These awards are a way for CHEO to acknowledge great community partners who really contribute in these ways to children.”
“We know that especially in mental health and suicide prevention, early intervention is critical,” she says, noting how strong support programs foster a less stigmatizing community for GLBTTQ youth.
For McConnery and the Centretown Community Health Centre, the message couldn’t be any clearer: “These youth deserve services just like everybody else.”
Six other programs received the CHEO award, and the Building Capacity program shared the Health Advocacy and Public Education Award with the Community Suicide Prevention Network, a program within the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa.