A multi-million-dollar centre for street youth who are homeless or at risk of homelessness opened Wednesday in a joint announcement between the Ministry of Health and St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation.
The Granville Youth Health Centre will house the Inner City Youth team run by St. Paul’s Hospital since 2006 to service vulnerable youth under 24 years old experiencing mental illness and addiction. The team will provide integrated services such as primary care, counselling, therapy, psychiatric assessment, group recreational activities and independent living skills. The new centre, located at 1260 Granville St., expects to service up to 1,200 clients by 2016 and facilitate 6,000 to 8,000 visits annually.
Alex Mann-Kuefler was one of the city’s estimated 700 street youth three years ago when he dropped out of college after suffering addiction and schizophrenia. He plunged into the “squalor” of the Downtown Eastside, the only place he could find housing. He recalls living there for six months on basic welfare. He was so preoccupied with meeting basic needs that he didn’t realize he was ill until an outreach team from St. Paul’s found him.
“Your basic daily activity is involved in how you’re going to find food, how you’re going to find the next meal, how you’re going to cope with the situation you’re in and also struggling with addiction,” explained the 26-year-old who volunteers in a peer support group and is pursuing work in international development.
“It wasn’t until the doctors found me that I actually started to get help… I had no real insight about my illness. No knowledge about it… but they worked with me in a very calm, rational, reasonable level to try and help me get healthy again.” The outreach team found suitable housing for Mann-Kuefler before embarking on a “collaborative approach” towards rehabilitation.
“There is a serious need for clinics like these because these youths represent the next generation of academics and professionals that, if given the opportunity, will go on and change the world in magnanimous ways,” Mann-Kuefler said.
Medical director of the Inner City Youth team Dr. Steve Mathias said the services will be extended beyond homeless youth with complex needs and will serve as an emergency room alternative for those with less severe problems.
Mathias said the program was born out of psychiatrists who saw youth coming in to the emergency room and were discharged without follow-up. They would often return, he added. Since the Inner City Youth team was established, Mathias said there’s been a decrease in substance abuse, improvements in mental health and stable housing situations.
Funding for the centre comes from the Ministry of Health’s $20-million budget allocated for those with mental illness or addiction issues, according to health minister Terry Lake. The funding added a second case management team to the youth program, which doubled the number of cases managed by the team. The building includes exam rooms, a peer support area, computer labs, and a communal kitchen.
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