In light of the attention that youth mental health has received recently with the tragic suicide of Lexi Daken, and the announcement of a new mental health plan for the province, it is timely that the new Social Work interns in our Constituency Office are focusing on youth mental health this year.
In their own words, here’s what they’re working on:
Hi, we’re Hillary, Hanna and Casey, Social Action Placement interns at David Coon’s Constituency Office. We are beginning our research into the barriers and facilitators of mental health access in the province of New Brunswick, particularly for youth. The focus of this project will be to evaluate what is currently in place in the mental health system, identify the barriers service users experience, and explore what can be done to remove those barriers. We are looking into this issue with a preventative lens, and we hope to uncover ways to improve access to mental health care services before youth are in crisis. We have identified schools as the best place to start our research for a preventative mental health program for youth. The focus of our research will be on other places that have implemented preventative strategies to help us develop recommendations for David to provide to the Minister of Health.