GUELPH POLITICAST #198 - What’s in a Youth Wellness Hub?

Early this month at Committee of the Whole, there was a presentation on the idea of a youth wellness hub, which has attracted the interest and participation of over 40 different groups in Guelph and Wellington County. Such a big project deserves a particularly thorough discussion, and that’s what this week's podcast is all about.

This week, we're joined by Kate Reed, the Project Manager for the Integrated Youth Services Network Initiative for Guelph-Wellington, and Carrie Chassels, the vice-provost of student affairs at the University of Guelph. They're two of the members of the steering committee for the project, which also includes representatives from the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington, the Waterloo Wellington LHIN, Guelph Wellington Dufferin Public Health, and Family & Children’s Services Guelph Wellington.

The idea of these Youth Wellness Hubs is the brainchild of Dr. Joanna Henderson from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). It's a way of improving access to mental health and addiction services for Ontario’s youth and young adults, and then combing that with other needed services like housing and employment, or even just giving young people someplace to hang out after school. But how do we get one these youth hubs?

This week on the podcast, we’ll get all the details about the Guelph version of the Youth Wellness Hub project so far, and what the end result of the project will look like in practical terms. We also talk about the challenges, specifically how the Guelph Wellington Youth Hub will balance the needs of urban and rural youth, and whether or not the provincial funding will be there when the project is ready. And finally, we will look at how members of the community can get involved, what the political expectations are, and when we might finally see the local youth hub in business.

So let's talk about answering the needs of local youth on this week's edition of Guelph Politicast!

If you would like to get more information on the Integrated Youth Services Network Initiative, you can send an email to integratedyouthservicemodel [at] gmail.com. There will be a one-year update on the project this Friday at the Ariss Golf and Country Club featuring speakers from the Rotary Club of Guelph, CMHA Waterloo Wellington, Centre Wellington Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and the Guelph Community Foundation. Click here if you would like to learn more about the youth wellness hub model.

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