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The Voice of North Grenville
Vol 7, 20
May 15, 2019
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New Health Hub launched in North Grenville
Lorena Crosbie and Frank Vassallo cutting the cake to celebrate the launch of the Hub by David Shanahan A new and long-awaited initiative in the field of mental health and addiction services was launched in Kemptville last weekend. The Mental Health and Addictions Health Hub for Children and Youth in North Grenville is the result of more than two years of talks, planning and hard work on the part of more than twenty partner agencies, and is designed to co-ordinate the many services already available in the municipality, as well as introducing new ways of outreach to young people in our community. The initiative began when Frank Vassallo, CEO of KDH, began to contact other service providers to talk about how their work
could become more collaborative and to end the situation where agencies were often unaware of what others were providing. The launch took place at Kemptville District Hospital, and was attended by representatives of the partner agencies, community members, and politicians from both municipal and provincial levels of government. Steve Clark, M.P.P., congratulated all those involved in bringing the Hub into existence, and noted the funds that were recently announced by his government to support mental health services in the region. Locally, Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health Services will receive $535,429 to support programs including $100,000 for opiods addiction treat-
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ment and services. Children’s Mental Health of Leeds and Grenville [CMHLG] will also receive $54,475. Minister Clark stated that the funding is designed to improve the mental health care system, which is disconnected and too often makes it difficult for patients and families to get the care and services they need. The result, he said, is many vulnerable young people and their families are left to navigate a confusing system on their own, and can access timely mental health care only when in crisis. Lorena Crosbie, Executive Director of CMHLG, thanked Steve Clark for the funding, and spoke of her organisation’s new Walk-In Clinic, which is open on Wednesdays between 11 am and 7 pm at 3-5 Clothier
Street in Kemptville. As a first fruit of the new Hub, the Clinic provides children and youth up to 18 years of age, along with their families, counsel and support for behavioural, emotional or other mental health concerns. Lorena spoke of her satisfaction that mental health for children and young people is now on the healthcare agenda in the province. Natalie Markoff, Director, Communications and Partnerships, for the Parents Lifeline of Eastern Ontario [PLEO], also welcomed the new Hub. PLEO offers a telephone helpline and a support group that meets every month at KDH, for parents of children with mental health challenges and addiction issues. They also have a mobile service to meet parents where they’re at, and whenever they need it. All peers, the PLEO members have, as Natalie told the gathering, “walked the walk with our children. We know what it’s like. To see this happening warms my heart. We have a lot to celebrate.” As speaker followed speaker, the extent of the problems faced by families and their children in North Grenville became increasingly obvious. Norrie Spence, Director of Connect Youth, an agency dealing with homelessness among people between the ages of continued on page 2
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