Old Daily News building may find new life as health and substance use centre

The Old Daily News Building may
soon serve as a one stop mental health
and substance use centre if funding
is approved for a local project

Should their plans come together and the grant funding make its way through the system, a local group looking to develop a collaborative mental health and substance use centre could soon set up shop in the Old Daily News Building downtown at 7th Street and 2nd Avenue West.

As we outlined on the blog on Tuesday, the local group has been working towards their goal of developing the much needed resources for youth in the community, they currently are hosting an online survey that they invited the public to take to help provide further input to their planning.

More background when it comes to the initiative of the Local Action Team working on issues related to Child and Youth Mental health and Substance Use was outlined at a meeting held last evening, with Mayor Lee Brain making note of the proposal as part of a post to his Facebook page related to civic issues.

In his review of the evening's discussion, Mayor Brain notes that the centre would provide integrated mental health and substance use services, including access to on site doctors and health workers.

The BC-IYSI centres are designed as "one stop" storefronts, that offer youth friendly accessible hours directed towards those between 12 and 24 years of age.

Some background on the project and an example of what it looks like when implemented can be found here.

The Prince Rupert application has made it to the second and final stage of the grant process, with final decision to be delivered sometime in May, according to background information on the Integrated Youth Services Initiative website.

One project from each health authority will be selected as part of the final grant allocation process.  In the Northern Health Authority region, the Prince Rupert application is in competition with one from the YMCA of Prince George.

Further information related to the local initiative can be found on the Facebook page for the local group, you can review their previous notes and keep up to date on their progress here.

As well the CYMHSU Collaborative also has this Facebook page with general information on their work in the community

Planners of a Prince Rupert Youth Health Centre seek feedback

Work continues on the North Coast to create a "one stop" Youth Health Centre for the region, with the next stage of development for that prospect finding organizers looking for some input from the community.

In order to get a better understanding of what may be required in Prince Rupert, an information session has been set up for this Thursday at the Multi purpose room at Charles Hays Secondary.

The project is being put together by North Coast Community Services, along with the assistance of Prince Rupert Child and Youth Mental Health, as well as the Substance Use Collaborative.

Some background into their work so far can be found on the Facebook page created for the initiative.

Thursday's session at CHSS runs from 6 until 8 PM and will feature more information on what the group hopes to achieve on the North Coast, as well as to receive feedback from area residents as to what areas need to be better addressed when it comes to youth issues in the community.

Snacks, Door Prizes and Refreshments will be available for those in attendance at the event.

The group is currently soliciting opinion through a short online survey available to both parent's and youth. Among the questions, are items of interest related to what kind of services should be part of any youth health centre, the hours that would work best for such a project, as well as suggestions on how to deliver the program better.

You can take the survey here.

If you want more information related to the initiative contact Sherry Beal, the Executive Director of NCCS. She can be reached at 250-627-7166 ext 2002, or through an email address set up for the project at cymhsu.princerupert@gmail.com