Katherine Carter was working in pediatric emergency as a social worker as well as within schools as a counsellor, where, for the past seven years, she saw firsthand the barriers families were facing to access mental health support financially, along with waitlists and time. Chelsea Campbell, a lawyer who practices family law, also saw youth being affected by family matters. This is where the two women decided to team-up to offer a four-week mental health group last summer, which was the beginning of Martensville Youth Connection (MYC).
“The response was amazing, and last fall, we ended up facilitating another 12 weeks of programming on Wednesdays at Clearcut Coffee House in Martensville. Clearcut has been an amazing support since the very beginning with us. Chelsea, Jennifer, who works at the Regional Psychiatrist Center (RPC) as a mental health officer, and myself taught various life skills and provided information on depression, anxiety, stress triggers, resume building, eating disorders. We also had guest speakers come from the sexual assault center, the LGBTQ2 community and we had teachings on the medicine wheel.”
In January of 2022, parents and youth were asked to complete surveys, and the response was astonishing. Carter noted that people were loving the Wednesday night youth group, so they decided to offer homework support on Monday nights, Wednesday for mental health support and Fridays for fun and games nights.
“This is where I knew I was in over my head and Chelsea, Jennifer and I could not continue volunteering our time to operate the programs. I went out looking for support and help.”
After a few months of Carter pitching her stories to many businesses, non-profits and other organizations, Possibilities Recovery Center saw the need and had similar passions and decided to support MYC and take hold of the program.
Chelsea, Jennifer and Katherine moved the program to operate out of Forged Fitness in Martensville and from April to the end of August, operated five days a week with social workers and addiction counsellors, offering mental health support and whole foods to local youth.
At a recent bingo fundraiser, the MYC provided an annual report showing the amazing work they have been completing between Paws Republic, community clean ups, take over at the skate parks, cooking for seniors and more.
Unfortunately, they are in jeopardy of having to close their doors to the public due to funding. “One of our biggest challenges is finding an adequate size facility at a reasonable price. Funding is always a necessary part of the programming; however, MYC is also always in need of food and snacks to feed the youth, especially fruits and vegetables.”
Carter noted that they are looking for a business to partner with that could provide fruits and vegetables monthly. It is these kind of partnerships with local businesses that make MYC possible as the programming is all based on community funding and grants. “At this time, we have no secure funding and we only have enough funds to continue on a monthly basis. We do not know what the fall will look like. Many companies have donated and it has been amazing, but we are still in need of $50,000 in order to continue to operate to 2023,” Carter explained.
The organizers have made a calculation and with approximately 10,000 people living in Martensville, if 1000 people donate $100 a year they would be able to operate with qualified staff five days a week from 3-9pm daily, and offer whole foods like fruit and vegetables to the youth.
“This is huge to us as we hear many families are struggling with the rising cost of living and we would love to reduce some of that stress that families may be facing by offering some nutritious foods and mental health supports to our local youth. We also offer free counselling to individuals who attend our groups thanks to the Martensville and District Kinsmen organization.”
“I have a dream of supporting our local youth to learn and grow and have a safe place to access when needed. We know that people struggling with mental health is on the rise, so if anyone has any ideas where we could set up a new location that is easily accessible to the youth, please let us know. Also, if anyone knows of any companies that would be willing to support our efforts in helping our local youth, please reach out to them and pass our information along.”
If you want to learn more about the program, or are interested in donating, visit https://possibilitiesrecovery.ca/myc-youth-program or the Martensville Youth Connection Facebook page.
