Introduction to Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO)

Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) is an initiative designed to address the service gaps in the youth mental health and substance use sectors in Ontario. The initiative has evolved into an Integrated Youth Services (IYS) model Network of 22 local networks across the province that provide young people the care they need in safe, welcoming spaces.

• YWHO provides all young people in Ontario aged 12 to 25 with access to a full range of integrated services that support their individual needs. The IYS model is designed to improve experiences and outcomes for youth by:
• Increasing access to rapid, low-barrier mental health and substance use services with easily accessible, walk-in options and clear service pathways;
• Reducing transitions between systems and service providers by providing care in one location;
• Providing tailored, high quality programs and evidence-based interventions co-developed with youth to meet their needs.
• Establishing common evaluation across sites; and,
• Incorporating meaningful youth and family engagement at all levels of service delivery.

YWHO Networks deliver a range of Integrated Youth Services (IYS) based on the local needs of the community, including mental health and substance use support, primary health care, care navigation, peer support, employment, education, housing, other social services, and other inclusivity-based skills and well-being services – all offered in safe, welcoming, youth-friendly spaces.

The YWHO Model

YWHO follows an Integrated Youth Services (IYS) model that ensures services are delivered through multidisciplinary collaboration across care providers, services, and sectors. All 22 YWHO sites are fully integrated networks offering services for youth aged 12-25 in 30+ communities across Ontario. These services address local needs related to mental health, substance use concerns, primary health care, education and employment, housing, peer support, outreach, system navigation,  other community and social programming, and skills and well-being programs - all in a safe, welcoming, youth-friendly space. .

This model aims to reduce transitions, remove barriers, and reduce wait times to access care through drop-in access to a full range of services, facilitating early intervention, and emphasizing age and culturally appropriate evidence-based care.

Improving Access to Care

A core component of the YWHO model is the commitment to youth and family engagement.  All services are co-developed with input from youth and their families to match their needs.  YWHO is committed to improving the quality and accessibility of services for diverse youth across the province, such as First Nation, Inuit and Métis youth, 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, Francophone youth, immigrant and refugee youth, racialized youth, youth with disabilities, and others.  To remove additional barriers of accessing care for all youth in need, all YWHO services are free of charge. If specialized services or channels of care are required, referrals to outside service providers can be arranged.

Informed by Youth & Families

YWHO is delivered through equitable partnerships with youth and other local service providers to promote innovative ways of meeting the needs of young people in each community. One way this is achieved is through collaboration with youth and family advisories. Each regional YWHO Network is responsible for working alongside a youth advisory council (YAC), and the YWHO Provincial Office coordinates four provincial youth and family advisory committees:

• • Provincial Youth Advisory Council (PYAC)
  • Provincial Family Advisory Council (PFAC)
  • Provincial Indigenous Youth & Family Advisory Circle (PIYFAC)
  • Open Access – Youth Digital Action Group (DAG)

YWHO Services

YWHO Networks offer services in safe, welcoming, youth-friendly spaces where young people can access a full range of integrated youth services. These services are provided by local service providers and follow a standardized set of practices across the province to ensure high quality, tailored, equitable care is delivered. Youth can feel confident knowing that they will have the same experience and access at every YWHO site in Ontario.

YWHO Services Pathways include:

1. Skills and Well-being Activities: structured or unstructured drop-in or scheduled recreational, health or learning activities
2. Community and Social Supports: family supports, education, employment and financial support services
3. Clinical Services Pathway: care navigation, peer support, primary care, mental health and substance use services

YWHO in Action

YWHO’s network currently consists of 22 hub networks that deliver services in 30+ locations across Ontario that vary in geographic and cultural contexts, including Indigenous, Francophone, rural, urban, and other culturally diverse areas. 

There are also multiple locations across the province affiliated with YWHO, but are not considered full youth wellness hubs.

The YWHO Network

The success of Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario is only possible because of the talented and passionate team members involved across the province. YWHO is comprised of:

• The local hub teams who provide the services to youth and families locally and,
• a Provincial Office team that provides support to the entire Network

Youth Wellness Teams at the Local Hubs

Local YWHO Networks include a core Youth Wellness Team that delivers services to youth and families. They are essential for implementing the YWHO model of care. Each Youth Wellness Team is comprised of:

• • Mental Health and Substance Use Clinicians
  • Nurse Practitioner
  • Peer Support Workers
  • Care Coordinators
  • Intake Coordinators.

These roles may be adapted based on the unique population composition of youth within the community.

All Youth Wellness Teams subscribe to the values of equity and youth engagement that are central to the YWHO Model of Care. Staff also practice trauma-informed care and harm reduction approaches within a culturally responsive lens. Youth Wellness Teams continually strive to ensure that they offer integrated and collaborative care to youth through low barrier service offerings.

YWHO Provincial Office

The YWHO Provincial Office is a small but mighty team that supports the entire YWHO Network with operations, implementation, data and evaluation, youth and family engagement, equity support, communications, and more. The team is led by Dr. Jo Henderson.

The team includes a core team of staff that support implementation at YWHO sites across the province, and draws on expertise from several teams at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) including:

• • Enterprise Project Management Office
  • McCain Centre for Child, Youth and Family Mental Health
  • Public Affairs

• • YWHO Provincial Office functions include:YWHO trainings and Communities of Practice
  • Youth and Family Engagement supports through coordination of four provincial advisories (Provincial Youth Advisory Council (PYAC), Provincial Family Advisory Council (PFAC), Provincial Indigenous Youth & Family Advisory Circle (PIYFAC), and the Digital Access Group (DAG)
  • Indigenous initiative implementation to advance the five PIYFAC priorities

Central delivery of communications to sites about YWHO information, resources and requests, and support in branding, promotions and donor recognitionHub-Specific Supports such as:  Implementation Specialists support the development of hub specific coaching plans to advance the full implementation of all YWHO core components.

YWHO builds on similar initiatives and other evidence-informed models already underway in Canada such as ACCESS Open Minds (Pan-Canadian) and Foundry (British Columbia), as well as previous international initiatives such as Jigsaw (Ireland) and Headspace (Australia). There were also four existing research-funded hubs in Ontario – Scarborough, Toronto East, Central Toronto (YouthCan IMPACT), and Chatham-Kent (ACCESS Open Minds), as well as many youth hubs in development across the province.

Présentation des Carrefours bien-être pour les jeunes de l’Ontario (CBEJO)

L’initiative des CBEJO vise à ce que les jeunes et leurs familles reçoivent les bons services au bon moment et au bon endroit. Les CBEJO jouent un rôle primordial dans l’instauration de meilleurs services de santé mentale et de traitement des dépendances pour les adolescents et les jeunes adultes en Ontario, car ils :

• donnent rapidement et facilement accès à des services de santé mentale et de traitement des dépendances dans des locaux facilement reconnaissables, sans qu’il soit nécessaire de prendre rendez-vous, et permettent la mise en place de parcours de soins clairs ;
• proposent des interventions fondées sur des données probantes qui tiennent compte de l’ampleur des besoins des clients et facilitent la transition vers des services spécialisés, le cas échéant ;
• réunissent, dans un seul lieu de type guichet unique bien adapté aux besoins des jeunes, les services en santé mentale et de traitement des dépendances, les soins primaires, l’aide à la navigation entre les services, le soutien par les pairs, les services d’emploi, d’éducation et de logement ainsi que d’autres services de mieux-être fondés sur l’inclusion ;
• réduisent la période de transition entre les services grâce au regroupement et au partage des services en un lieu unique ;
• permettent d’appliquer la même grille d’évaluation dans tous les centres ;
• permettent de concevoir les services de concert avec les jeunes et les familles.

Les CBEJO s’appuient sur des initiatives similaires et d’autres modèles fondés sur des données probantes déjà adoptés au Canada, dont ACCESS Esprits Ouverts (pancanadien) et Foundry (Colombie-Britannique), ainsi que sur des initiatives internationales, comme Jigsaw (Irlande) et Headspace (Australie). Par ailleurs, il existait déjà en Ontario quatre carrefours subventionnés à des fins de recherche à Scarborough, à Toronto Est, au centre de Toronto (Les jeunesCan IMPACT) et à Chatham-Kent (ACCESS Esprits ouverts). D’autres carrefours sont en voie de développement dans toute la province.