CMHA Waterloo Wellington: Children & Youth Services Building

The Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington needs your help in closing the gap in funding for our new innovative Children & Youth Services Building on Woolwich Street in Guelph, which will be a hub for more than 30 service providers focused on child & youth mental health and developmental services and will welcome 9,000 local children, youth and their families each year. The pandemic has been particularly detrimental to the mental health of children and youth. At CMHA Waterloo Wellington our service volumes pre and post COVID for children and youth have increased significantly. In children’s crisis services we are experiencing a 23% increase in clients in service. In our most intensive services, child psychiatry and psychology, we are experiencing a 70% increase. Locally, there are 551 requests for services, by clients on waitlists, to access children’s and youth mental health and developmental services. CMHA WW provides a full care system for children, youth, adults and seniors with mental health, addictions, or developmental needs. At the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington, they have seen a sharp increase in the number of people, particularly families and children, reaching out for help – many of whom have never needed help from the formal mental health system before. In an era where there is an increasing need for mental health services and the complexity of navigating the system can make it hard to know where to go for support, you can help children, youth, and families to be able to access the services they need all under one roof.