Construction is underway on a new mental health facility for youth in Calgary.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday morning for the Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation have partnered to build the purpose-built centre.
“When it opens two years from now, the centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health will give young people and families new options to help identify and manage mental health challenges before they escalate into crisis,” Alberta Health Services Board chair David Weyant said.
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The centre will have three primary services: a walk-in clinic with specialized triage, an intensive treatment program and a day hospital.
“Kids will be able to receive treatment during the day and then sleep in their own beds at night,” Weyant said.
“It’s a unique combination of services, a new model and one in which we believe will benefit young people tremendously.”
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AHS said the centre will also be “one of the most research-intensive community-based mental health facilities for young people in Canada.”
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“Early intervention is critical to recovery, and for vulnerable kids and their families here in Calgary and throughout southern Alberta, healing and hope, comfort and care are on the way with today’s groundbreaking,” Premier Jason Kenney said.
Mental Health and Addictions Associate Minister Jason Luan echoed the importance of early intervention.
“We know when children and youth are facing mental health issues, early intervention is key to helping them recover and lead healthy, successful lives,” Luan said.
“This centre will go a long way in helping young people build resilience, improve mental health and put them on a path toward recovery.”
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The Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Build Them Up campaign has raised $47.2 million of its $50-million funding goal towards the centre.
“We are so humbled by this remarkable response. Calgarians are a force. People have formed a parade of support for this centre and for the kids and families who need it,” Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation CEO Saifa Koonar said.
“To all of the donors, thank you, thank you, thank you for putting vulnerable young Albertans first and for so generously contributing to this critical and life-saving project,” Kenney said.
The centre is scheduled to open in 2021.
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