Already providing young people with a variety of supports, such as life skills, leadership, and parenting programs at its Jane Street site in Weston, Yorktown Family Services has introduced a new youth walk-in counselling clinic for 12 to 25-year-olds.
The youth walk-in counselling clinic, a year-long pilot project that officially launched on Sept. 11, is part of Yorktown Family Services’ West Toronto Youth Hub, at Jane Street just south of Lawrence Avenue.
Yorktown Family Services (YFS) is a community-based non-profit social services agency funded by the Ministry of Health and United Way.
“Out of our youth development programs here, we started to see so many mental health issues arise, youth presenting with much more complex needs,” said youth development manager Neeli Grewal, citing such examples as anxiety, bullying and suicidal thoughts.
YFS offers five-day-a-week walk-in child, youth, and family therapy at its head office in Fairbank Village on Eglinton Avenue West near Dufferin Street, which has seen a 25 per cent increase in clients recently, said manager of clinical and systems services Maria Zigouris. However, it was difficult to convince Weston residents to travel to the Fairbank Village location, she said.
“It’s not always safe for young people to travel to 2010 Eglinton (Ave. W.),” Zigouris pointed out. “We wanted to look at how we could service the community here.”
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The youth walk-in counselling clinic is provided by YFS in partnership with Unison Health and Community Services and offers one-on-one solution-focused talk therapy. It will also be an access point to Urban Tele-Mental Health in conjunction with the Hospital for Sick Children.
“Everything we do is collaborative. We try to be as responsive and integrative as possible,” said Robyn Howlett, YSF team lead.
Weston resident Laurence Adams, 25, who is a familiar face at the West Toronto Youth Hub at 1541 Jane St., said he appreciates how close it is to home.
“It’s right here, right next door,” Adams said. “I feel welcome.”
Adams said he has found it constructive to have someone to talk to as he seeks stable, fulfilling employment, which he said is challenging.
“You can only inspire yourself so much. Sometimes you need a little boost — it’s good to have reassurance, an extra push,” he said. “At our age, we are striving to find greatness, but we’re struggling.”
There are many low-income, single-parent, and newcomer households — social determinants that indicate that Weston is a high risk community, Zigouris said. Young people are dealing with anxiety, depression, bullying, suicidal ideation, and trauma, which could mean they’ve suffered from sexual or physical abuse, domestic or community violence.
“Social media is so embedded in our everyday lives. You can’t turn it off. It’s the reason that mental health issues have been on the rise,” Zigouris said.
Once the year-long pilot is finished, YFS hopes it can continue offering the walk-in counselling clinic to youth.
“It’s such an essential part of the services we offer to help youth function in their everyday lives,” Howlett said. “We’re putting our heart and soul behind it because we obviously see a need.”
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