One Year of Counselling for Youth in Need

Through its Edmonton Healing Centre, Jewish Family Services Edmonton offers 1:1 counselling supports with licensed therapists on a sliding price scale for people from all backgrounds. From a maximum of $180 for those who can pay full price to $0 for those without the ability to pay, support is available for everyone. It costs JFSE $86 to provide each one hour counselling session at no cost to the client, or $1032 per year. 

The youth mental health crisis has exploded, and we are seeing the impact and need for greater support. Youth are almost twice as likely as the average adult to report poor mental health, and more likely need support but not be able to access it. 1.2 million Canadian youth have a need for mental health support and more than half are not receiving the help they need. Almost 3/4 of mental health issues manifest before the age of 24, and when they are not treated, can lead to significant challenges for the person, their family, and the community. The Conference Board of Canada estimates the annual cost of long delays in treating youth mental health, specifically anxiety and depression, at $4 billion each year. That doesn't factor in the lost opportunities and challenges a young person encounters because of delayed treatment.  

For the last year on record, 2023, Alberta recorded the most number of hate crimes of any year since collection started 10 years earlier. There is a gap in treating youth whose mental health is negatively affected by racialized hate and acts of racism. While many organizations provide youth mental health support, none directly address trauma tied to racialized hate. Even when not experiencing directly, news and word of rising incidents, as well as residual and shared community trauma, create additional stress and negatively affect their mental health. The EHC and JFS is skilled in supporting people in this area. Many youth cannot access our services right now because of financial constraints, and this grant would allow us to provide a full year of service for 10 youth in need. 

This grant would support a full year of monthly 1:1 counselling for 10 racialized youth who are experience mental health challenges in part due to racialized hate and cannot afford individual counselling support at this point. A majority of youth in need are waiting to access mental health support, and this will have a tangible, positive, local impact on addressing this. 

Youth eligible for this support can come from any racialized background, and of any faith or belief. In the intake process of EHC, or through referral from another JFSE program, they will have identified racialized acts of hate, whether experienced first-hand, intergenerationally, or indirectly, as major stressors and causes of mental health distress. They will also indicate a willingness to work long-term throughout the year in order to fulfill the full 12 sessions.