The Alberta government says it is a third of a way to its goal of opening up 60 classrooms dedicated to assisting students with mental health struggles across the province.
Nine additional CASA Mental Health Classrooms opened in seven Alberta communities when students headed back to class this fall. The classrooms provide dedicated supports to students facing complex mental health challenges, while not disrupting their education.
Each classroom is staffed with a full-time teacher, a mental health therapist, a mental health aide and other staff who support students in their recovery.
“With the difficulty and the challenges around mental health, we know that kids need wraparound services, where mental health classrooms like the CASA classroom, are going to have supports from psychiatrists, from psychologists, from physicians, from nurses – registered psychiatric nurses – and obviously from mental health therapists and teachers,” Mental Health and Addiction Minister Dan Williams said.
“These dedicated classes are there to help children so that they can transition into their classroom, get them into a spot where they have an opportunity at recovery as well. In spite of the mental health challenges, they should be able to operate and continue to live a full life.”
Of the nine new classrooms that opened this fall, two are in the Edmonton area, three are in Calgary and one each in High River, Red Deer, Fort McMurray and Bonnyville.
There are now 17 CASA Mental Health Classrooms operating in schools across Alberta. The government committed $70 million over three years to open 60 of the classrooms by 2026.
CASA Mental Health CEO Bonnie Blakley said the organization’s goal is to deliver more services to more kids closer to where they live. The classrooms are meant to help fill the gap for youth between home and the hospital, she explained.
“We have specialized classrooms. These classrooms are modelled in a way that allows us to provide direct care to students while they’re learning. You receive individual group programming, psychiatric care, medication management – all individualized for you specifically while you’re in that classroom,” said Blakley, who is also a mother of seven and has experienced mental illness in her family.
Alicia Long, a mother of two, said one of her daughters experienced a “terrible, traumatic incident that left her with mental, emotional and physical distress that we as parents were completely unequipped to assist her with.”
The girl spent time in a CASA classroom, which her mother said provided her with a unique blend of therapy and the school environment.
“It was a healthy space for my daughter to both learn and to grow,” Long said. “She had a circle of caring professionals around her that we as parents felt very empowered by.”
Long said her daughter was able to learn skills to help her cope with her stress while doing better in school. The girl also gained more confidence and made friends in her classroom.
“The CASA classroom has been a great success for our daughter,” Long said.
The first CASA Mental Health Classrooms opened in Alberta in 2023. Once all 60 are open, the province estimates they will support 1,500 students per year.