Sudbury Youth Wellness Hub sees increased demand for mental health support

The wellness hub in Greater Sudbury says more young people are coming to them in need of help with mental health challenges.

Sudbury’s Youth Wellness Hub is seeing increased demand for some of its services, officials said Wednesday.

On its one-year anniversary in June 2024, the facility said more than 10,000 youth had walked through the doors.

“I think we might have been originally surprised by the numbers,” said Alana Jackson, manager of system performance.

“But when we look at the wider community and issues that adults are facing, families are facing, we know that, you know, the cost of living has increased. Housing is a crisis for some people. Even getting into mental health services can be difficult for anyone with long waitlists, those sorts of things. So, I think what we’re seeing is just an echo of that, but with a different population.”

Now, it said it is seeing more young people use its programs and services, seeing 50 people each day. All programs and services are free for those age 12 to 25.

“Different youth come in for different reasons,” said Jackson.

“We are overrun sometimes with youth needs and we’re always looking for support from the community.”

The Wellness Hub offers a variety of programs and services, including mental health, housing, employment and peer supports. Additionally, the hub serves as a safe space for youth to socialize.

“This is just a space for them to have as their own, where they have a place to come after school to visit with their friends,” said hub coordinator Amanda Gates.

“They know it’s safe, they know there’s food. They know they have access to all the other services. It’s just a place for them to go where the community doesn’t have a lot of that.”

Due to increased demand, Gates said the hub now has a nurse practitioner on site three days a week, as well as mental health support. She said a doctor will begin working next week to specifically help those struggling with substance misuse.

“Some of the youths' needs are much more intensive than we could have imagined,” said Jackson.

“We have a lot of homeless or precariously housed youth, lots of youth who are couch surfing. So we hook them up with our housing support worker. We have lots of youth who, you know, are struggling with substance misuse, relationship issues, food insecurity, basic needs being met can be a challenge.”

She added that transitional youth in the age category of 18 to 25 make up the majority population for those asking for mental health support.

“That tends to be a section of the population that doesn’t get a lot of attention,” Jackson said.

“They’re supposed to transition into adult services, but it can be very difficult to navigate those services. And so sometimes youth needs don’t get met because they don’t know where to go. They’re not sure who to call, and they might not even know what services are available.”

She said her biggest piece of advice for youth is to seek support when needed.

“I think one of the biggest things is just letting people know that we are here and it’s OK to be struggling and it’s OK to ask for support,” she said.

“We have lots of trained and very skilled individuals who are here to help children, youth and their families.”

Gates said she encourages all youth to come check out the space.

“A lot of parents have told me, ‘My youth, my kid doesn’t need to go to a space like that,’ and it might not be your kid, but it might be their friend,” she said.

More about the Youth Wellness Hub can be found here.