August 28
2023
This investment of $200,000 will help us better understand the needs of young people suffering from mental health problems in the territory served by the Douglas Institute by supporting a pilot project with a mobile outreach unit as well as single session therapy (STS) initiatives within the Aire ouverte network.
Both projects will have a positive impact on the community and will be formally evaluated in collaboration with the Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health at the Douglas.
“Medavie’s support will enable our teams to launch a pilot project to learn how to ensure the sustainability of the single session therapy offer and to help transfer this knowledge to new recruits in the network as well as to other programs working in youth mental health”, says Ina Winkelmann, Deputy Director of the Mental Health and Addiction Programs at the Douglas Institute.
“As part of our mission to improve the wellbeing of Canadians, through the Medavie Foundation, we invest in organizations working to ensure young people have access to the mental health care they need, when and where they need it.” says Charles St-Laurent, Vice President of Regional Development in Quebec. “We are proud to partner with the Douglas Institute in support of the communities in which we live and work.”
Single session therapy is based on the concept that the first intervention session may be the last with the user. This explains why it is so important to be able to meet young people in need where they are located. The funds invested will be used, among other things, to train Aire ouverte staff members and to assess the efficiency of operations for the mobile outreach unit as well as to rent an environmentally friendly electric vehicle.
According to Laura Fish, President and CEO of the Douglas Foundation, the generous donation offered by Medavie will allow us to quickly establish the viability of mobile services for youth mental health care on the territory of the Montreal West Island CIUSSS:
“The funds will help to evaluate the best way to provide better mental health services to vulnerable youth across our vast territory. This pilot project will help determine whether it is effective to meet the young people in their community in this way and only transport them if necessary to the satellite sites which can better take care of them,” she says.
Aire ouverte is a provincial initiative allowing young people aged 12 to 25 to have access to a range of health and well-being services all offered under the same roof. Professionals meet young people from a vulnerable clientele where they are and offer them interventions adapted to their specific needs.
Mr. Fortier, who currently serves as Chief Legal Officer and Secretary at WSP Global, will bring his expertise in governance, strategic management, and legal affairs to the Foundation’s mission.
Thanks to a generous donation from the Charles, Evelyne, and Sandra Dolansky Foundation, the Centre is taking its research to the next level with an exciting multi-year initiative led by five Principal Investigators.
Did you know that, as part of your Will, you can set aside money for charity? You may have heard this called planned or legacy giving.