Vancouver – The BC Children’s Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre has launched a new and improved website so families, school and health professionals can more easily find mental health and substance use information and resources to support children and youth.

The website, keltymentalhealth.ca, is a resource for everyone in British Columbia, a place where they can find information, tools and services, including evidence-based supports, created by trusted health experts at BC Children's Hospital. 

The redeveloped website is more user friendly and offers new features, including:

• New sections for parents and caregivers, health professionals, school professionals, and youth and young adults to help them quickly find relevant information and resources;
• Improved search functionality to help visitors easily find information and resources within the website;
• A new collection tool to help visitors save and share personalized collections of resources from the website; and
• Updated information and resources about mental health and substance use challenges and disorders, with content reviewed by clinical experts at BC Children's Hospital.
  

Funding for the BC Children's Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre website was provided by RBC through its Integrated Provincial Child and Youth Healthy Living Initiative.

Also launching today is Kelty Centre's new Instagram account @keltycentre to complement information already provided through Facebook and Twitter, connecting followers to the latest resources and information on mental health and substance use in an accessible way.

In addition to the website, the Kelty Centre offers a variety of services so that children, youth and families can find the help they need, when they need it, as close to their home communities as possible. This includes peer support services from trained young adults and parents with lived experience in child and youth mental health, through a collaboration with FamilySmart.

Quotes:

Judy Darcy, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions

"Connecting young people and their families to trusted information, resources and peer supports is so important in pushing back against the shame and stigma that keeps people alone and at risk. Time and again I've heard from families and youth how difficult it is to navigate the mental health and addictions system and get the help they need. This new website is a valuable resource that will help youth, young adults and their families connect to the information they need to get on a pathway to hope and wellness."

Sarah Bell, Provincial Executive Director, BC Children's Hospital and BC Women's Hospital + Health Centre Mental Health Programs

"Every year, 1 in 5 people in Canada experience a mental health or substance use challenge, many of them children and youth. It is crucial for parents, caregivers and health and school professionals to have a credible source of evidence-based information. The redesigned keltymentalhealth.ca website is an easy-to-navigate resource with updated information that they can use to support children and youth in their mental health journeys."

Mary McCracken, Family Smart Parent-in-Residence (PiR), Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre

"The new website is so much easier to navigate and the information has been vetted by experts and is written in language that people can understand. As Kelty is a provincial resource, it is great that families living in both urban and rural areas of B.C. can access it to help children who are struggling. The website also highlights where families can get help including accessing our FamilySmart parent and youth peer support workers (PiRs and YiRs) who can be reached by phone, email and in person."

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BC Children's Hospital, part of the Provincial Health Services Authority, provides expert care for the province's most seriously ill or injured children, youth and young adults, including newborns. Child and Youth Mental Health provides a diverse range of specialized and one-of-a-kind tertiary mental health and substance use services for children, adolescents and young adults across the province. For more information, visit www.bcchildrens.ca/ or follow us on Twitter @BCChildrensHosp.

The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) plans, manages and evaluates selected specialty and province-wide health care services across BC, working with the five geographic health authorities to deliver province-wide solutions that improve the health of British Columbians. For more information, visit www.phsa.ca.

Media Contact:

Heather Puzzella

Communications Officer

Provincial Health Services Authority

604-875-3732

PHSA Media Line: 778-867-7472