‘It’s a huge deal’ : IWK Foundation excited about ‘groundbreaking’ mental health partnership

The IWK is one of 13 children's hospitals across the country that will be able to boost child and youth mental health projects, thanks to Sobeys and the Sobey Foundation.

“A Family of Support” Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative will support early intervention in mental health and education programs in Canada.

“It's a huge deal,” said president and CEO of the IWK Foundation, Jennifer Gillivan.

“We believe if you can change the health of children, you actually can change the health of Canada,” she added. “It's a big dream and it just took one more step towards reality with this partnership.”

Gillivan said each hospital will decide where the funding will be most useful. Here in Halifax, it will go towards a project called The Learning Link, a physical and virtual mental health hub.

COVID-19 resulted in the hospital turning to virtual care for mental health, and she said this project will build on that work.

“Our goal is to reach more families quicker,” she told NEWS 95.7's The Sheldon MacLeod Show. “Early intervention is critical with mental health in children.”

“It's also there to train local physicians and local clinicians. It's also there as kind of a resource for families.” 

She said every interaction through The Learning Link will allow them to eventually customize early intervention treatments.

“Every delivery, every learning lesson is embedded with research,” she explained. “Over time, we're going to actually be able to figure out that maybe a certain kind of treatment works better for a kid in Halifax, but it doesn't necessarily work for a rural child or in an Indigenous community.”

Gillivan said each of the 13 children's hospitals across the country is running a different program, and they will all be sharing their results with each other.

“The goal is that ultimately we will totally lift the whole country, and in effect change the mental health system and how it's delivered in this country,” she said.

Twenty per cent of Canadian youth are affected by mental illness, but only one-in-five gets the help they need when they need it.

“So you can imagine the importance of really reaching these kids sooner and customizing what we do,” Gillivan said. “It's really doable.”

“We have all the experts, we have the knowledge, what we didn't have up until now was almost the engine to fuel us to be able to go into the community, use technology and a whole bunch of other things we're going to be doing.”

Gillivan is excited about the potential impact of “A Family of Support” across the country.

“I actually feel like we're now making history in Canada with this partnership,” she said.

“I know we're not only going to help kids, but in some cases, we're going to save kids.”