For about eight months, more than 280 young people accessed services at a mental health and addictions hub in Sarnia.
During about eight months, more than 280 young people accessed services at a mental health and addictions hub in Sarnia.
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First fiscal-year results from the Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) site in the city were presented recently to Bluewater Health’s board of directors.
The former bank site, at the corner of Front and Lochiel streets, opened July 11, 2023.
The numbers reflect use at the end of March, 2024. About two-thirds of people attending during that time were age 18 to 25, according to a recent board report.
The rest were aged 12 to 17.
Altogether, people visited 734 times, the report says.
The services-hub partnership that includes Bluewater Health, St. Clair Child and Youth Services, and Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Lambton Kent, as well as the County of Lambton, includes free mental health, substance use and primary care services, and offers education, employment, training, housing and other community and social services supports.
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Bluewater Health, before a cyberattack last Octoberregularly tracked the number of 12- to 25-year-olds who visited the hospital group’s emergency rooms for mental health reasons and returned again within 30 days, hospital group CEO and president Paula Reaume-Zimmer said.
On average, 575 people were in that category a year, she said.
Another hospital report says Bluewater Health is still trying to recover clinical data after the cyberattack.
“When we have the data available, we’re hoping to see a significant decline in that number,” Reaume-Zimmer said about hospital emergency room visits for mental health, among 12- to 25-year-olds.
The Bluewater Health target for return visits within 30 days among that cohort, as of the last time that data was reported last September, was about 15 per cent or less.
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The actual number was averaged about 17 per cent, a September board report shows.
Reaume-Zimmer emphasized the success of the YWHO site so far.
“The model is recognized in Sarnia-Lambton as one that youth are going to,” she said.
People who’ve used the YWHO site have been visiting about three times on average, said CMHA’s Andria Appeldoorn.
The hub has about $450,000 in annual funding in place, with several agencies, including the partner agencies, Rebound, and local school boards, contributing staff and other resources, Reaume-Zimmer said last July.
Having multiple providers at one site makes it easier for youth seeking help, she said at the time.
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