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CYMHSU wants to hear mental health stories

Child & Youth Mental Health & Substance Use team wants to hear stories about accessing mental health services

The Child & Youth Mental Health & Substance Use team wants to hear stories from youth aged 6-24, parents and support providers about dealing with mental health issues.

The local action team is putting together a ‘Pathways to Care’ document featuring a network of practitioners, services and resources available to youth in Revelstoke experiencing mental health and substance use challenges.

“It’s developing a map of the services and supports we have in Revelstoke that someone with mental health challenges might take to receive appropriate care,” said Stacie Byrne, the project lead for CYMHSU.

To put together the document, they want people who have and haven’t accessed services to let them know about their experiences. The information will be kept confidential.

“What we’re doing to develop the Pathways to Care is having people who have either gone through the system and have information to share about their experience with the specific ones that they chose, or ones who haven’t accessed services, and finding out why,” said Byrne.

The team has developed a survey that can be found online or at WorkBC, the Community Centre an Selkirk Medical. One thing they hope to overcome is the stigma around mental health. It’s estimated one in four young people experience mental health issues, but only 20 per cent of those that need mental health services receive them.

Respondents can choose to include their contact information or submit their stories anonymously. All information will be kept confidential.

One of the goals is to find out what services people are accessing, beyond just counselling.

“Part of it is there a lot of services in town, some that work well together, some that don’t work well together, some that are duplications of services. There are some gaps, some things that people wish were here that aren’t here to access,” said Byrne. “Part of getting people’s experience of where they went and how they got care is to also think outside the box of the services that service providers typically think of as the pathway to care.”

Visit tinyurl.com/y7o8fs3a to complete the survey, or look for it at WorkBC, the community centre and the Selkirk Medical Clinic. You can also contact Byrne directly at revelstokecymhsu@gmail.com.