On November 28, 2011, PHE Canada attended a launch event in London, Ontario celebrating the Canadian release of the AstraZeneca Young Health Program (YHP). This program is a global, long-term community investment by AstraZeneca that aims to improve the health of vulnerable people around the world – now and into the future.

In Canada the YHP is focused on fostering the emotional and mental well being of disconnected and vulnerable youth. With this program, AstraZeneca aims to reach 50,000 Canadian youth in the next three years of the program. Globally, their aim is to reach 500,000 young people directly and another 500,000 lives indirectly by 2015.

Currently, only one in five young people who need mental health services receive them, and 70 per cent of mental health problems have their onset during adolescence. But we also know that 70 per cent of mental health cases that appear in youth can be addressed through early intervention.

PHE Canada’s role in this initiative is to extend the reach of the program through our networks by developing a national initiative. Following the launch party, on December 13-14 2011, PHE Canada gathered community stakeholders from across Canada to discuss youth mental health and crisis in the school environment. The purpose of the meeting was three-fold:

1. To provide an opportunity for stakeholders to dialogue about the issue of youth mental health and crisis in the school environment – raise awareness of the current situation of youth mental health and crisis in the school environment across Canada.
2. Map the landscape of issues, needs, gaps, existing resources, opportunities and strengths in the school environment.
3. Identify potential directions, goals and opportunities for PHE Canada to offer support and recommend potential ‘next steps’.

 Attendees at the meeting included 25 individuals representing 15 stakeholder organizations across Canada. Participants included:

• School principals
• Teachers
• Public health nurses
• School board administration
• Healthy living consultants
• Guidance counselors
• Learning coordinators
• Mental health liaisons
• Physical education coordinators and instructors
• Guidance counselors
• Learning coordinators
• Mental health liaisons
• Researchers and university professors

Over the two-day period, attendees discussed what current challenges, needs, existing resources and gaps within the school environment pertaining to emotional wellness and youth mental health exist.

Some points of discussion included:

• Tension of balancing the needs of an individual student with the needs of all students in the class/school, especially when there are multiple needs and limited resources
• The importance of addressing the stigma around mental health and the need to create awareness about mental health and mental illness
• Need to increase access to resources for youth, children, staff and parents

Other partners in the Canadian program include mindyourmind and The Boys and Girls Club of Canada. Mindyourmind will be working to expand online resources for young people and to develop innovative evidence-based tools for professionals to effectively engage and support youth. The Boys and Girls Club of Canada will be working to provide accessible, relevant and interactive programs and resources to youth through their network of clubs and to increase the capacity of their staff to identify and support the needs of adolescents.

For next steps, we are currently working through all of the feedback to help shape a national program. Through our discussions, it is clear that resources and support for youth mental health vary from region to region, with seemingly no consistency across the nation. We would appreciate hearing what is available in your community or school, and what gaps you see in the field that can be filled.