We want young people to know that they are not alone. The support they need will be available at The Summit every day of the week.”
– Julia Caddy, Youth Advisory Council Member
Thanks to an outpouring of generosity from thousands of donors, The Summit: Marian & Jim Sinneave Centre for Youth Resilience, Calgary’s first communitybased mental health centre for young people, opened in March.
Located in northwest Calgary, The Summit is a collaborative effort between Alberta Health Services, the University of Calgary, the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation and our community. It provides three new resources for kids, teens and their families: the Owerko Family Walk In Services, Tallman Family Treatment Services and Ptarmigan Day Hospital. These services provide mental health support for young people up to the age of 18 with the aim of helping them address issues as early as possible.
“Thanks to our wonderful community, young people now have a place just for them, specially designed to help them grow stronger and more resilient,” says Saifa Koonar, President and CEO of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. “We hope every person who enters The Summit will feel all the love and support that has gone into creating it.”
As Program Manager for the new centre, Ryan Clements played a vital role in the creation of The Summit and the services it offers. “We had the opportunity to visit some of the leading mental health centres in Canada, the United States and Australia and used that inspiration to create something truly exceptional here in Calgary,” he says. “We are so grateful to the community for helping us reimagine what care should look like and for paving the way for a healthier future for generations of young people to come.”
In addition to inspiration found around the world, the Youth and Family Advisory Councils have been an integral part of the planning process for The Summit, meeting regularly over the last several years to provide input on every aspect – from colours and wall graphics to furniture and lighting. Sharing their lived experiences with mental health helped inform many facets of the centre, both functional and aesthetic, to make it as safe and welcoming as possible for kids and teens in need of support. The committees were also consulted on program development, research priorities and operating hours.
“My hope is that kids will see how welcoming The Summit is and reach out for help way sooner than I did,” says Julia Caddy, a member of the Youth Advisory Council. “We want young people to know that they are not alone. The support they need will be available at The Summit every day of the week.”
“The Summit is the perfect metaphor for the journey so many of us have been on,” she says. “Ten years ago, I was at rock bottom. I couldn’t climb a flight of stairs at the Alberta Children’s Hospital…never mind the thought of climbing a mountain. But when I got the help I needed from an incredible team of people who cared and helped me find myself again, I got stronger – physically and mentally.
“Now I literally climb mountains. And when I make it to the summit, I am so grateful. I stretch out my arms, I close my eyes and I soak in the wind and the sun and the beauty…and I know that things are going to be okay.”
Creation of The Summit was made possible through the Build Them Up campaign launched in 2018.
More than $50 million was raised to fund construction as well as innovative program and research enhancements.
There are 75 team members including Family Counsellors, Psychiatrists, Teachers, Registered Nurses, Recreation Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Psychosocial Rehabilitation Assistants, Spiritual Health Practitioners and Peer Support Workers.
8,000 young people and their families are expected to be helped at the new centre every year.
The Summit is located at 1015 17 Street NW. For more information on hours of operation and services, please visit ahs.ca/thesummit
The Summit is a three-storey facility nestled into a hill in the northwest community of Hounsfield Heights. Each floor offers a new approach to mental health care for kids, teens and their families.
The Summit was designed to create a warm and welcoming experience for everyone who enters. Here, visitors are greeted by a friendly face at reception. They are able to rest, pray or meditate in the reflection space, play pedal-powered video games or find a comfy seat and enjoy the natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows.
The first floor is home to the Owerko Family Walk In Services, open 10 am to 10 pm seven days a week. A team of mental health professionals provides one-hour, single-session therapy appointments for assessment, crisis intervention or therapeutic support. This innovative approach is helping arm young people and their families with a clear plan of support and strategies to address the concerns that brought them to The Summit.
Top: The waiting area features a variety of seating options, charging stations and a play space for younger patients and siblings.
Left: Therapy rooms have home-like furnishings to put everyone at ease.
Right: Bright windows and colourful swivel chairs provide a comfortable place for patients and family members to take a break during treatment sessions.
Focused on comprehensive treatment services, the second floor is home to:
The Ibbotson Gymnasium for recreational therapy
Liam’s Community Connections for families to meet with other adolescent health specialists and partner agencies
Foo Family Healing Garden for horticultural therapy, fresh air and sunshine
A teaching kitchen and barista station where youth can learn skills and gain confidence
A sensory room to experiment with light, sound, texture and movement
Quiet rooms for rest, space or decompression
An expressive arts room for music, play and art therapy
NEW HOPE & HELP FOR KIDS
The lounge will be a hub of activity for patients and families.
Gym for daily recreational therapy
Tallman Family Treatment Services is a place for young people who need more than a single therapy session. Here, kids and teens have access to individual, family and group sessions for up to four hours a day over a period of up to six weeks.
Having all these mental health services under one roof will make it easier for children, youth and their families to access the care they need.”
– Mauro Chies, President and CEO, Alberta Health Services
Another first for Calgary, Ptarmigan Day Hospital on the third floor of The Summit was created to shorten the length of stay for young people admitted to hospital and create a smoother transition for them back to their home, school and community. Here, kids and teens transferring out of around-the-clock care are provided a “step down” approach of eight to 10 hours of intensive therapy each day, enabling them to return home to sleep in their own beds each night.
The day hospital includes two classrooms allowing kids and teens to keep up with their studies with a Calgary Board of Education teacher. There is also a kitchen where culinary professionals create healthy meals to ensure everyone receives the nutrition they need throughout the day. The back door leads to an outdoor sport court for recreation. It is steps away from the Brawn Family Foundation Rotary Park, a city-owned space purpose-built to support mental health and wellness for the community and young people at The Summit.
The Summit will be one of the most research-intensive mental health facilities for young people in Canada.
While serving as an innovative clinical care facility, The Summit is enabling a unique opportunity to develop and implement a world-leading mental health research program with a direct pipeline from discovery to care – all in one setting. University of Calgary-led research will fully integrate with care to enable families to benefit from and contribute to advancing evidence-based best practice therapies that will help young people here and around the world.
“We know there’s an unprecedented number of children and adolescents struggling right now. Our hope is that The Summit opening sends a message to young people and families that the community cares about their well-being and is investing in the very best care and treatments rooted in research evidence.”
– Dr. Susan Graham, Program Co-Lead, Mental Health Research for Kids
Here are a few examples of research led by local scientists:
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
In their ongoing studies focused on youth with OCD, researchers have discovered specific genes associated with traits of this disorder. Such discoveries may one day help care providers identify a child’s risk for specific mental health concerns and provide personalized treatments informed by their genetic profile.
Personalized prescriptions
With the added complexity of supporting teens on the autism spectrum, pharmacogenetics researchers are working with these youth and their doctors to individualize medications based on their DNA and factoring in other prescriptions required to manage autism symptoms.
Brain stimulation
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive way to target and “wake up” specific areas of the brain. Already an effective treatment for depression in adults, researchers are now starting a clinical trial to understand whether rTMS may benefit children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
For more information and to learn how your family can participate in research, visit mentalhealthresearch4kids.com
The Summit will incorporate accessible mental health care with leading-edge research, so we can mobilize academic insights into the best possible clinical care for children and youth. The University of Calgary is honoured to be a part of this historic milestone for child and youth mental health in southern Alberta.”
– Dr. Ed McCauley, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of CalgaryLeaving a legacy gift is a great way to support research that will advance care for generations of children and families to come. To learn more, visit childrenshospital.ab.ca/ legacygiving
With your help, a strong continuum of mental health support for children and families extends into their communities and homes – beyond the walls of The Summit. Thanks to your generous donations, here are a few examples of important programs made possible even before the new centre opened its doors.
Mental health literacy experts have developed a curriculum for teachers to introduce discussions about mental health into Grades 4, 5 and 6 classrooms. This is helping educators, students and parents understand, identify and properly address concerns as early as possible. Additionally, it will reduce stigma and develop empathy and understanding for children facing struggles with mental health.
Calgary is the first city in Canada to offer a gold standard evidence-based intervention that helps families bridge the gap from acute care to care in their home community. In partnership with carya, Functional Family Therapy consists of weekly sessions for up to six months with specially trained and certified therapists, usually in the comfort of the family’s own home and ideally with all family members present.
For many youth and families, seeking mental health or addictions support can be a stressful and intimidating experience. A new Peer Support program in the Alberta Children’s Hospital Emergency Department is proving to be invaluable. Parents and teens with lived experience are helping new patients and their families navigate their journeys. This service has expanded to The Summit.
In Calgary, emerging adults make up less than 11% of the population, yet account for 29% of mental health inpatients and 23% of outpatients.
Approximately 22,000 emerging adults in our city access addiction and mental health support through Alberta Health Services. Experts believe thousands more are not accessing care.
Visit buildthemup.ca to learn how your support for this initiative will help save lives, reduce suffering and improve life-long potential for thousands of young people struggling with their mental health.
While Calgarians rallied to help fund construction of The Summit, it became clear there was an urgent need to support an equally vulnerable population of emerging adults. As a result, work is now underway in partnership with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the University of Calgary to improve and expand the mental health care provided to 16-to-24-year-olds.
Over the past year, Dr. Melissa Potestio, the project lead, conducted an extensive engagement process with dozens of young people, their families, AHS and community partners. This consensus-building exercise prioritized innovative solutions to improve the experience and health outcomes of emerging adults seeking mental health and addiction services in the Calgary area.
“It was critical to learn from the wisdom of those young people who have actually accessed – or tried to access – mental health supports in our community,” says Dr. Potestio. “Through seeking to understand their lived experiences, we’ve co-created a road map to help bridge gaps and provide evidence-based care in a way that meets the unique needs of this age group.”
A new Emerging Adult Service is currently being offered and evaluated at two demonstration clinics resulting in substantially decreased wait times. The Emerging Adult Service uses a webbased platform to allow clients to share real-time data with their providers
to guide their treatment and ensure they receive the right intensity of services the first time. The service will also launch several of the innovative solutions prioritized by young people, while planning for the remaining solutions continues.
“It’s just the beginning,” says Dr. Potestio. “It’s gratifying to know that the community is behind this work and understands how important it is that we provide young adults the support they need sooner and in a way that works best for their critical stage of life and development.”
With generous community support, the ultimate goal is to establish a hub – a blend of virtual and physical space –where emerging adults and their families know they can turn to get help.
It was therapeutic in a way. It was nice to know that I wasn’t alone in the issues that I faced with the mental health system. It was also nice to talk about these issues with the hopes of changing the system for the better somehow.”
– Engagement session participant
While the opening of The Summit is an incredible step forward in wellness for families, the urgent need for specialized mental health support for young people is growing. We are grateful to have partners like CRESCENDO committed to continuing to help Build Them Up.
CRESCENDO is a dynamic evening of high-energy musical performances and powerful storytelling, featuring some of the province’s top vocalists and musicians. Presented this year by Safeway, CRESCENDO returns on June 17 at Arts Commons Jack Singer Concert Hall, featuring a full orchestra, choir, band and soloists. It’s the vision of Alberta’s own immensely talented John Cameron, whose passion for supporting families in our community is the driving force behind this spectacular show.
“I have first-hand experience with mental health challenges,” says Cameron. “It is why I started CRESCENDO, a powerful platform to entertain, explain and raise awareness around mental health. It is my greatest joy to share the talents of hundreds of Albertans, sing our way into the hearts of the audience and speak about a very important subject.”
Captivating testimony underscores the importance of efforts to support mental health research and resources.
Taylor Poulter bravely shared her mental health journey at CRESCENDO 2022. She began suffering from severe
anxiety and depression when she was just 10 years old. Now 22, she continues telling her story to shed light on the struggles that so many young people face and help make a positive difference for others.
“Even though I was nervous to speak in front of hundreds of people, I took comfort in knowing I was in a room full of people who genuinely cared,” says Poulter. “Everyone was there for a reason beyond the fantastic music and show they got to see – they were also there to support mental health initiatives and that made me feel so encouraged and supported.”
With electrifying performances of classic pop and rock hits, you are sure to be out of your seat, singing and dancing along to the music of Neil Diamond, Prince, Eagles, P!NK, Belinda Carlisle, The Beatles and more.
For more information and to purchase your tickets today, visit childrenshospital.ab.ca/crescendo
Scan to buy your tickets
RBC Race for the Kids
September 10, 2023 | Heritage Park
Candy Cane Gala
December 1, 2023 | BMO Centre
For info on these and other exciting events visit childrenshospital.ab.ca/events
