Laureen Harper, wife of Canada’s prime minister, and Ottawa city councillor Allan Hubley praise the programs of Ottawa’s Youth Services Bureau downtown drop-in centre
METRO NEWS OTTAWA, February 11, 2013
After years of neglect, youth mental illness is getting the attention it desperately needs, said Laureen Harper as she toured Ottawa’s Youth Services Bureau downtown drop-in centre on February 11, 2013.
“Children that I know who have had mental health issues don’t necessarily have happy endings,” said Harper, honorary chair of the Kaleidoscope of Hope Gala, which last October raised $65,000 for the YSB and several similar charities. “But that doesn’t mean that we can’t have happy endings. The kids are downtown, so this is where it needs to be.”
Harper said programs such as the YSB’s mental health walk-in clinic on Besserer St. are at the forefront of changing the results and stigma around the mental illnesses.
Joined by councillor Allan Hubley, whose son Jamie struggled with mental illness before taking his own life in 2011, Harper said more and more adults, who are role models for youth, “now admit that they’ve had depression and mental health issues.”
The Drop-in centre serves more than 1,000 youth who live on the street or stay there part time. Due to their circumstances, many struggle with mental health and are especially vulnerable since they don’t have a reliable support system, Harper said. [Source: Metro News Ottawa]
We speak with Dan Sabourin, director of community services at Ottawa Youth Services Bureau.
Image: City councillor Allan Hubley listens as Prime Minister’s wife, Laureen Harper, praises programs offered at Ottawa’s Youth Services Bureau. By Graham Lanktree/Metro News.
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Speak… let your voice be heard. “Speak” is an Ottawa Youth Services Bureau film about the lives of four youth fighting homelessness. It’s about their successes and struggles in life. Watch parts one and two below.
