Manitoba youth sound off on need for mental health supports in new report
Young people in Manitoba are calling for more mental health supports.
It's one of several requests as part of a new report from the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth (MACY), which aims to shed light on some of the biggest issues young people face today.
The special report titled 'The Right to Be Heard' is based on MACY's Listening Tour.
Initially, the advocate's office travelled to different communities between January and March 2020. In this time, more than one-thousand youths were part of this outreach. The pandemic put a halt to the travel plans, and instead, an online survey was launched in the spring of 2020.
"You asked me to pick five things I'm concerned about in this community but so many of the options I was given are so closely linked, and most of them relate to mental health," said one youth in the report. "Drug abuse is a mental health issue. Bullying is a mental health issue. Violence is a mental health issue."
Acting Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth Ainsley Krone said the youth, primarily between the ages of 14 and 20, spoke about a number of issues.
"They talked to us about being online, and what it's like to grow up online in a big way, especially during a time when so much of us are doing so many things remotely," Krone said.
The reports shows the top five concerns among youth are substance use, mental health and well-being, poverty, violence, and racism and discrimination.
"Some of these issues are issues that we see regularly in our work, in our direct advocacy for young people here at the office, in our investigative work, in our research, our youth engagement," said Krone.
The survey results, which include direct feedback from nearly 300 young people, were presented to youth in May of this year for feedback and ideas.
"It's important for youth to know that they can talk to adults, and there's adults out there that are willing to actually listen, and willing to make a change, and help youth make a change on their own," said Sophia Stang, a member of the Youth Ambassador Advisory Squad.
When asked what solutions they would like to see, the youth listed mental health and addictions-related services and programs at the top of the list, followed by community-based recreation activities, cultural activities, sexual health programs, and schools and learning centres.
Mental Health, Wellness and Recovery Minister Audrey Gordon said in a statement to CTV News that her government is working to further improve mental health and addictions supports for youth in Manitoba.
"As a result, the department of Mental Health, Wellness and Recovery will be creating an action plan to help enhance mental health, wellness, and addictions services in Manitoba,” said Gordon, who is also currently Manitoba’s Health Minister.
Krone said while there are a number of great mental health services in Manitoba, there are still several gaps in the system.
"The problem is that we don't have enough of those excellent service providers because the need is so significant, which is why we're seeing the issue of wait lists as such a significant one here in Manitoba," Krone said.
Krone and her office are now hoping to meet with leaders in communities across the province to hear from them about the issues youth are facing in their areas.
The MACY survey is still available online for youth interested in sharing their feedback.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.