The Alberta government is providing additional funding for community organizations supporting youth mental health and suicide prevention.
Children’s Services Minister Rebecca Schulz says as young people come out of the pandemic, it’s important that they have supports available.
“There are some kids, especially in those families who would have been more vulnerable or at risk who would have been more impacted and so this is an area that we need to address. We are doing that, but it’s also making sure that while we invest a lot of dollars, we have to make sure that those support services are in the right place at the right time so that kids and families know how to access them.”
Schulz says supporting the mental health of young people can help them through adulthood.
“Certainly in children’s services we talk a lot about inter-generational trauma and the impacts of youth experience on their adulthood and this is really important to recognize as something that not only impacts child intervention, but it’s something that’s the focus in our family resource networks as well. Making sure that we’re doing everything we can supporting parents and families who stay together.”
The youth suicide prevention grant program is accepting applications from community organizations until April 8.
A link to the application can be found here.
You can listen to our full interview with the Minister below.
– Kyle Moore, Trending 55 Newsroom
