According to Executive Director of Rebound Child and Youth Services Nicole Wood, youth wellness hubs have been in place in Ontario for a number of years now, and they’ve been working for over a year to bring one to Northumberland County.
Last year, Port Hope Mayor Olena Hankivsky helped facilitate a meeting with Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Michael Tibollo and our local MPP David Piccini to discuss the need for a youth wellness hub in Northumberland County.
It included representatives from adult mental health associations, child and youth mental health and police services to talk about the challenges they’re seeing across the region and discuss the steps involved in bringing a youth wellness hub to the area.
Following that initial meeting, Hankivsky brought together like-minded individuals from the social services sector for a community session hosted at Port Hope townhall.
Wood told us more about bringing the pieces together towards a youth wellness hub.
Crawford Consulting was hired to develop community engagement sessions which were held in Brighton, Cobourg, Port Hope and Campbellford where the feedback and options of youth and families were collected on youth needs and current gaps in services available to them.
Following the engagement process, an application was submitted in August 2023.
Wood told us that part of the governance structure for the proposed youth wellness hub is to have a collaborative partnership team with those members have a voice within the structure of the framework of the wellness hubs of Ontario.
Wood told us a bit more about the goals for a youth wellness hub in Northumberland.
That would include access to primary care, recreation, mental health and addictions support, education and career development as well as access to affordable housing and peer support in one place so local youth don’t have to navigate the system by themselves.
This means that youth don’t need to know what they’re looking for and they can take advantage of the hub to just hang out without any stigma attached should they ultimately be looking for other types of support.
“It really takes away those barriers to accessing services that are prevalent.” said Wood. “People just want to be able to access it (wellness hub) a way that feels safe and a way that feels welcoming and inviting and non-judgmental.
If the proposal is successful and funding is provided for the youth wellness hub the first location will be in Port Hope with a strong desire to over the next couple of years to expand service throughout the county in a spoke and hub model.
(Written by Joseph Goden)
