Free App Helps Youth in Hamilton Reach Out to Mental Health and Addiction Services
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s Youth Wellness Centre sponsored Hamilton's version of Be Safe, a freeapp launched for Apple and Android mobile devices on June 19th. The app aims to help youth manage mental health crises and to reach out to local mental health and addiction services.
Be Safewas originally developed by mindyourmind in London, Ontario, with the support of a dedicated team of youth, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s Provincial System Support Program and other partners in the Systems Improvement through Service Collaboratives initiative.The success of the London-specific version of Be Safe sparked interest in other communities across the province, who partnered with mindyourmind to develop their own community-specific mental health and addiction resources listings. Be Safe is now available in 13 regions: Brant, Chapleau, Chatham-Kent, Durham, Great Sudbury, Haldimand-Norfolk, Hastings-Prince Edwards, Hamilton, London Middlesex, Manitoulin Island, Sarnia Lambton, Waterloo Wellington and Windsor Essex County, as well as Ontario-wide.
The Hamilton version of Be Safe was coordinated by CAMH’s Hamilton office with support from St. Joe’s Youth Wellness Centre. It guides youth through developing a personal safety plan for use in mental health crises and walks them through a series of questions. The app provides a list of local Hamilton resources to reach out to including, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s Youth Wellness Centre, Alternatives for Youth, Crisis Outreach and Support Team, Living Rock and CONTACT Hamilton, just to name a few.
“In the middle of an upset or crisis it is hard to think clearly about what to do or who to call, but by using this app to plan ahead the guess work is cut out and help is only a few clicks away,” explains Lisa Jeffs, Manager, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s Youth Wellness Centre. “Youth in Hamilton will be able to use this app to customize a safety plan for themselves that will be there ready for them in times of crisis and point them to local Hamilton crisis resources so they know exactly who to reach out to when they need help.”
The app can be downloaded at www.mindyourmind.ca/be-safe
To learn more about St. Joe's Youth Wellness Centre visit: www.reachouthamilton.ca