Helping More Children and Youth Access Mental Health Services

Posted On 25 Jan 2017

Province Expanding Services to Better Reach Rural, Remote and Underserved Communities

Ministry of Children and Youth Services, on January 25, 2017

Ontario is helping children and youth in communities across the province connect to local mental health services more easily by expanding online, smartphone and video resources that can provide immediate, specialized support when and where it is needed.

The province is supporting Kids Help Phone’s Resources Around Me online tool, which helps children and youth access mental health programs and services in their communities through the app on a smartphone, computer or mobile device. The tool instantly connects young people across Ontario to information on mental health services close to home.

Ontario has also enhanced its Tele-Mental Health service, which provides children and youth, especially those living in rural and remote communities, with better access to specialized mental health consultations through videoconferencing. These supports will increase the program’s treatment capacity to up to 4,000 consultations per year.

Helping more young people access mental health services and supports is part of our plan to help all children and youth in Ontario thrive and reach their full potential.

Quick Facts

Ontario is helping Kids Help Phone upgrade the Resources Around Me tool through an investment of $3.4 million over five years.
The province is investing $400,000 to enhance Tele-Mental Health services.
Approximately one in five children and youth in Ontario experience a mental health challenge.
Ontario serves more than 121,000 young people every year through an investment of more than $444 million annually in community based child and youth mental health services.
Today is Bell Let’s Talk Day, a wide-reaching, multi-year program designed to break the silence and stigma around mental illness, and support mental health all across Canada.