Lindsay’s Boys and Girls Club looking to secure a Youth Wellness Hub

A group of community organizations are working together to secure a Youth Wellness Hub for Kawartha Lakes.

A Youth Wellness Hub is an integrated youth services initiative built with families and youth in mind to help youth who are struggling to find support. It’s a place where youth aged 12-25 can go to get support for their mental health, physical and social needs etc. They have a range of activities and services for youth to access.

BGC Kawarthas, CMHA, HKPR, Chimo Youth and Family Services and CKL Family Health Team are all cooperating to get approval from the province to create such a hub.

“The magic of the Youth Wellness Hub is it is developed collaboratively with youth and families to design a network of supports to meet community needs. The outcome becomes a collection of community support agencies working together in shared spaces to support youth where they are,” says Ellen Watkins, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Right now, there are 22 Youth Wellness Hubs in Ontario. However, none of them are in Kawartha Lakes. The organizations working together to try and secure a Youth Wellness Hub have presented a proposal to the Ontario government in hopes that they will provide BGC Kawarthas with one.

“Currently we offer drop-in services, and specific programs for youth aged 12-17 with some programs for older youth. A Youth Wellness Hub would include additional services including clinical mental health services, a nurse practitioner, addiction services and more frequent access to things like employment support,” says Amy Terrill, executive director at BGC.

A Youth Wellness Hub provides assistance by creating a sort of peer support atmosphere. “They may want to talk about issues with someone they know has also experienced a similar life pathway and find that engaging with a peer support worker might be all they need,” says Marg Cox, executive director at Point in Time.

Youth feel there is a need for more support.

“My experience is in Haliburton – and youth are saying it’s amazing to have a place like the youth hub, a second home, where they feel safe, and love the food, relationships with staff and being able to access both the wellness activities and services in the same place,” says Cox.

The organizations wanting to add a hub to Lindsay all agree that BGC is the most ideal place for it. Since this club already works to create a positive atmosphere for youth and a helpful place for youth to look for support, a hub will only enhance what they’re offering.

“Some Youth Wellness Hubs have struggled to attract youth through the door, particularly if there are no recreational opportunities built into the hub. Hundreds of youth already come to BGC Kawarthas’ Youth Warehouse and there is a wide variety of recreation offered here that keeps them coming,” says Terrill. A hub will provide new kinds of support for youth along with the club providing recreational activities for youth. It’s the perfect spot to get the best of both worlds.

The goal of the organizations who are wanting to add a hub to Kawartha Lakes is to create a one-stop place for youth. It will also encourage other communities to add a Youth Wellness Hub. With more hubs comes more resources for more people.

“I think every community would benefit from having a hub. In fact, we are now exploring the possibility of expanding the hub model itself to adult services, senior services and children services,” says Cox.

If the proposal gets approved a Youth Wellness Hub will create a safe place for youth where they feel they can belong.

For more information on Youth Wellness Hubs and to find a Hub near you, you can visit: https://youthhubs.ca/information-families-caregivers.