A new wellness center has just opened in Cambridge, aiming to offer support for substance use, mental health care, primary health services, and more for young people throughout the city.
The Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario Cambridge (YWHO Cambridge) is set up inside the Langs Community Health Centre. It’s part of a province-wide effort to improve care and help for youth across Ontario who need it most.
They say it will provide “a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment where youth can access a wide range of supports.”
“The launch of YWHO Cambridge is a milestone for our community,” said Debbie Hollahan, CEO of Langs. “We are proud to lead this initiative and expand access to essential services that support the health and well-being of youth in Cambridge.”
This new spot in Cambridge is one of 10 fresh locations being added by the Ontario government, making up part of 32 hubs across the province. It was first announced back in January when the provincial government allocated funds for these 10 extra wellness centers.
“The new Youth Wellness Hub in Cambridge is a significant milestone for young people and families in this community,” said Vijay Thanigasalam, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. “It will provide a safe and welcoming space where youth can access care, build connections and receive the support they need close to home.”
The hub says it’s focusing on helping youth without creating long-term dependence by using a specific approach in delivering their services.
“The Youth Wellness Hub specifically offers brief intervention services, meant to meet the acute needs of youth,” said Dave Cooke, Director of Community Services with YWHO Cambridge. “It’s not ongoing long-term counselling, but four to six sessions where we help build coping skills, resiliency, and goal-setting. What we find is that we have great success when kids come in with a singular issue. We can work with them on it, send them back out.”
He also mentioned that because they offer brief interventions like this, more youths are able to come through their doors and benefit from what they provide.
(Left to right: Minister Vijay Thanigasalam, Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett, and Debbie Hollahan, CEO of Langs) Officials seen during the opening of the youth wellness hub (Mark Douglas/570 News Radio)
Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett says having this wellness hub fills an important gap in town. She points out that as many local groups struggle these days, it affects how much support young people get.
She believes that what this new centre offers is needed now more than ever before.
“With people so busy today, they recognize way too late that there’s something wrong within their own child,” said Liggett. “I think that the start of this here is where we’re going to pick up where that’s gone away, where that’s disappeared in modern society.”
While she praised efforts from the Ontario government supporting projects like this one she also noted it’s only just beginning – there’s still lots more work ahead.
“There’s a lot more to be done with this. Now you’ve got your mental health counselling but the government is going to have to put more funds towards education for counsellors [and] psychiatrists which they haven’t been doing,” said Mayor Liggett. “For this to work they’re going to have to do that; there isn’t enough brick-and-mortar right now either.”
The YWHO Cambridge officially started welcoming visitors on November 3rd offering free walk-in help aimed at youths aged 12 through 25 years old. For full details about what’s available check out their website at YWHO Cambridge.
