More Nova Scotia teens struggling with anxiety will soon get telephone coaching targeted to their needs, with no wait time.
Government announced today, Oct. 20, a $148,875 grant to Strongest Families Institute for its anxiety program for youth.
Strongest Families Institute is a non-profit organization that provides support to families when and where they need it. There is no wait time, so families can begin intervention quickly without having to miss time at work or school.
“Anxiety can hurt children and teenagers’ social lives, their schoolwork and ultimately, their mental health,” said Health and Wellness Minister Leo Glavine. “I’m pleased this program will help young people develop coping strategies early in life, and let them reach their full potential.”
The anxiety program for young people aged six to 17-years-old offers coaching over the phone or at home. The program’s success rate in managing anxiety is better than 85 per cent.
Strongest Families Institute will use this grant to evaluate a new telephone group approach for youth anxiety, to update their materials for youth, and to develop a mobile-friendly daily anxiety tracker that will help young people understand their anxiety and what skills will help them the most in those situations.
“Our program has been highly successful in helping children and youth deal with anxiety, but we want to do more,” said Dr. Patricia Lingley-Pottie, president and CEO of Strongest Families Institute. “This grant will allow us to reach more youth through group coaching, where it’s appropriate, and to ensure our materials meet their needs.”
This grant is one of a series of community mental health and addictions grants to be awarded over the coming weeks. In total, the province will award more than $600,000 worth of community mental health and addictions grants this year.
All grants were awarded for specific projects for a one-year period. Grants greater than $30,000 were evaluated by independent peer reviewers, then by an expert review board outside government.
For more information on Strongest Families Institute programs, visit http://strongestfamilies.com/.
Source: Release
