Sustaining the wellbeing of children and youth into the future

Over the past four years of the Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use (CYMHSU) Collaborative, over 2,600 people have focused on building relationships and connecting systems of care to ensure that every door is the right door for children, youth and families seeking help with mental health and substance use concerns. Through 64 Local Action Teams and 11 Working Groups, hundreds of activities have taken place during that time locally, regionally and provincially; 268 mental health literacy activities, 142 school-based initiatives, 82 websites and resource directories, and numerous guidelines, protocols and training opportunities to increase the capacity of communities to respond to the needs of their young people.

As the Collaborative starts to wrap up its activities from now until the end of the year, the focus is sustainability — sustainability of the work, the relationships, and models of care developed and emerging. With this goal, the Collaborative has released two 'legacy' items to encourage spread of successful community strategies for CYMHSU.

Legacy Magazine

The first of these, the new Legacy Magazine was distributed at a recent CYMHSU Congress, the last to be held as part of the initiative. With engaging stories and pictures, the Legacy tells the in-depth story of the Collaborative - how it started, who's involved, and the scope and diversity of its activities and impact. 

Collaborative Toolbox

The second is the Collaborative Toolbox, a website developed to provide a one-stop-shop for many of the tools and resources created, tried and tested by the Collaborative since 2013. Toolkits, handouts, posters, consent forms, ER protocols, learning modules, and partner resources key to the success of the work, such as the PHSA San'yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training are located on the site.

'All learn, all share'

Both legacy items build on the 'all learn, all share' approach to support Local Action Teams, physicians, school personnel, youth and families, and other community partners, whether starting from scratch or continuing efforts to support the mental wellbeing of children and youth now and into the future. 

The Legacy Magazine and Collaborative Toolbox can be found at collaborativetoolbox.ca.

Learn more about the CYMHSU Collaborative here