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The Manitoba government is addressing long wait times for youth counselling services by funding additional positions at Huddle NorWest, Housing, Addictions, and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith announced on Thursday.
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“Children and youth who are experiencing mental health challenges should not have to wait for help,” said Smith. “By recruiting more health-care professionals to help reduce wait times for counselling services, we can make it easier for youth and their families to get the help they need, when they need it.”
The government will provide $200,000 to Huddle NorWest to hire 3.5 full-time clinicians. This expansion will allow the organization to accommodate an additional 140 youth previously on the waitlist.
Kendra Monk, co-ordinator at Huddle NorWest, said the pandemic caused an increased demand for services.
“As the first Huddle youth hub in the province and one of the few services available to provide ongoing free counselling for youth in Winnipeg, during the pandemic we have received a substantially higher number of referrals for mental health support than we had capacity to meet,” said Monk.
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“Our team was amazing at providing drop-in counselling and mental health support groups during this time, but it was very difficult for us to not be able to meet the continued demand. We are so grateful to the province for this investment, which has enabled us to absorb our wait list entirely and provide needed counselling supports to youth in Manitoba. As a team, we are planning for how to adapt and offer the best services in a post-pandemic world.”
Huddle NorWest is part of a network of six Integrated Youth Services sites in Manitoba. From October to December 2023, the site served 295 youth, including 83 new clients, and provided 171 counselling appointments.
The Huddle initiative, supported by the Manitoba government and United Way Winnipeg, aims to integrate mental health, addictions, primary care, peer support, and other services in a single, accessible location for youth aged 12 to 29 and their families.
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