We all know mental health is a growing social issue, but did you know just how deep the impact is on our children and youth – and how many gaps there are in the system? These vulnerable young people may require extended services, but they don’t know where to get support.
Did you know?
An estimated 1.2 million children and youth in Canada are affected by mental illness—yet less than 20% will receive appropriate treatment.1
70% of mental health problems have their onset during childhood or adolescence.2
Between 2007 and 2017, visits by children and youth (5 to 24 years) for mental health or substance use treatment rose 75% and hospitalizations jumped more than 55%.3
By age 25, approximately 20% of Canadians will have developed a mental illness.1
Recognizing this, RBC Global Asset Management (GAM) has supported several initiatives across Canada through the RBC Foundation over the years. Most recently, we have made a long-term commitment towards overall RBC support of the Integrated Youth Services initiative, which launched in 2017. RBC has delivered more than $8MM in support to IYS since the program’s inception.
IYS-Net: A new framework for youth mental health services
Late in 2022, Ottawa responded to the call for greater coordination and collaboration to address youth mental health with up to $18 million in funding. One key component of the new plan is a “network of provincial/territorial networks,” called IYS-Net. This initiative aims to deliver community-based mental health and substance use services alongside additional youth supports. The federal government states IYS-Net will allow for “research evidence, data, and youths’ lived experience to inform processes, policies, and practices to improve health equity and service delivery.”
IYS-Net is being developed through a partnership between Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Virtual Youth Wellness Hubs (YWHO) in Ontario & various local groups nationwide. RBC Foundation is a major contributing partner, with funding support from RBC GAM and other parts of RBC.
“Many of us have children or know children who are struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Our post pandemic world has highlighted this even more, with well over half of Ontario students reporting that the pandemic has left them feeling depressed about the future4 . RBC supports the IYS-Net as a way to get better at delivering the help these vulnerable young people need. We potentially can be saving lives and helping more than a million young Canadians.” Andrew Pearson, Director Corporate Citizenship, RBC Wealth Management.
Mental health support for youth is an important piece of RBC GAM’s community engagement strategy. The ultimate goal speaks to our shared RBC purpose: creating wellness and prosperity for all underserved members of the communities in which we live and work.