Big Boost For Youth Mental Health Services At RVH

Meridian Credit Union kicks in $100K

A nice donation today to the RVH Child and Youth Mental Health Services program. The Meridian Credit Union wrote a cheque for $100,000. In Simcoe Muskoka, there is a critical need for child and youth mental health services with as many as 16,000 area young people experiencing a mental illness. Since 2007, the number of days that area children and youth have spent in the region’s hospitals suffering from mental health issues has tripled. As it stands, just one in five young people in North Simcoe receives the help they need; sometimes young people are sent home or admitted, inappropriately, to inpatient adult psychiatric units. “The burden on families is enormous and heartbreaking so, developing child and youth mental health services is one of RVH’s highest clinical priorities,” says Dr. Roger McIntyre, RVH’s clinical director of mental health services. “What our young people need is seamless mental health services – in essence, we need ‘one-stop shopping’.