As part of The Slaight Family Foundation’s 2023 youth and mental health initiative that granted a total of $26.5M to 19 organizations across the country, UHN was the recipient of $1.5M to help expand services for young people suffering from mental health issues. The gift is helping integrate mental and physical health needs of young people, and ensuring there is a seamless continuum of care from hospital to community.
“One of the issues we heard loud and clear was the disconnect between youth discharged from hospitals and the continued community support or services available to them,” says Gary Slaight, President and CEO of The Slaight Family Foundation. Investing in these connecting services and programs is an investment in the well-being and future of our youth.”
Integrating physical and mental health for transitional age youth
The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a challenging time of psychological, physical and social change. Individuals between the ages of 18 and 25, known as transitional age youth (TAY), often struggle to figure out how to integrate their health needs into their life plans.
As home to Canada’s largest medical psychiatry team, UHN’s Centre for Mental Health is in a unique position to address this challenge.
“Transitional age youth are at the intersection of change and vulnerability, and their health journey becomes more complex when they simultaneously grapple with specialized mental and physical health needs,” says Dr. Susan Abbey, Program Medical Director and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at UHN’s Centre for Mental Health. “At UHN, we see a substantial number of these patients navigating this pivotal phase of life. This generous donation will be instrumental in implementing a systems-level approach to improvement, ensuring that this special population receives the comprehensive support it truly deserves, and that no one loses access to treatment during the transition to adult services.”
The power of partnership
The TAY initiative will involve an innovative partnership with Youth Wellness Hubs (YWHO) – an Ontario-wide network of 27 centres. YWHO provides high-quality integrated youth services to support the well-being of young people, including mental health and substance use supports, primary health care, community and social supports. Through this new partnership, UHN’s unique Mental Health in Medicine care model will be a resource to support the mental and physical health needs of TAY across UHN, particularly for UHN clinics that do not have existing TAY resources. As the mental health of these patients stabilizes, YWHO will provide the resources to support TAY as they transition from UHN back into the community.
Since 2013, The Slaight Family Foundation has funded several strategic initiatives across multiple organizations. These initiatives began with gifts to five Toronto hospitals to support priority healthcare issues followed by programs addressing global humanitarianism, promoting the healthy development of children and youth across Canada and supporting Indigenous programs. The Slaight Family Foundation has also funded initiatives to help seniors remain in their homes and communities, address mental health challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, bolster major theatres still recovering from the pandemic, support women and girls at risk in Canada and, most recently, support those living with dementia. UHN Foundation has been a proud beneficiary of The Slaight Family Foundation’s generosity over the years, including previous support for seniors, women and mental health.
