Canada is currently experiencing a youth mental health epidemic. 1 in 2 Canadians will have struggled with their mental health by the age of 40, with 70% of mental health problems arising during adolescence[1]. In Canada, suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth and young adults, taking 4,000 lives in Canada each year[2]. There’s no way to sugar coat this – our nation is facing a crisis, and young people need our support more than ever.
Unfortunately, youth face enormous barriers when trying to access potentially lifesaving mental health services. In Ontario, 28,000 children & youth are waiting as long as 2.5 years for mental health treatment – up from 12,000 in 2017[3]. For youth that are able to access care, as many as one-third believe that their needs are partially or entirely unmet[4]. Service providers are trying their best, but they face an uphill battle between limited resources and immense demand for services.
We believe that kids and their families deserve so much better. It’s why we focus on building capacity in kids’ mental health services. Capitalize for Kids works directly with agencies to identify opportunities to build capacity and reduce waitlists with their existing resources. We combine the unmatched industry insight of our beneficiaries with the business acumen of our consulting team to tailor impactful solutions that meet the unique needs of our clients. At times, we partner with top for-profit companies on a pro-bono basis to supercharge our engine. Our unique approach equips us with the ability to generate impact more effectively than anyone else.
We don’t cut blank cheques to our beneficiaries – we work hard, and we work smart to create a lasting impact. If the solution requires capital to implement it, we will invest in the solution for three years, ensuring that it works and creates impact before the beneficiary assumes the funding. At the end of the process, we template and share what we learn so that other organizations can implement similar solutions for themselves. By helping service providers support more young people with their existing resources, we help kids spend less time looking for help and more time getting it.
We’re proud of the work we do, and we’re eager to continue growing our impact in 2021. This #GivingTuesday, we invite you to get involved in our mission to help more kids get the support they need. Building more capacity is challenging. It takes more than money, but money is a crucial element – it is the kindling that gets the fire started. By making a charitable investment in Capitalize for Kids, the impact of your dollar will multiply to create permanent healthcare value.
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[1] CAMH, “Mental Illness and Addiction: Facts and Statistics”
[2] Government of Canada, “Suicide in Canada: Key Statistics”
[3] CMHO, “Kids Can’t Wait: 2020 Report on Wait Lists and Wait Times for Child and Youth Mental Health Care in Ontario”
[4] Canadian Psychiatric Association, “Tracking access to psychiatric care needed to chart a way forward say psychiatrists”