Partnering Together to
Build A Mentally Healthy
and Suicide Safer Ottawa: A
Public Health Approach
Benjamin Leikin, Mental Health Project Officer,
Ottawa Public Health
Joanne Lowe, Executive Director, Youth
Services Bureau
Ian Wiseberg, Manager of Services, Crossroads
Children Centre
November 20, 2012
Outline
Development of strategy
 Strategy Overview
 Key accomplishments
 Lessons learned
 Next steps
 Partners Presentation: YSB and
Crossroads
 Questions

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Local Picture of Children and Youth
Mental Health at time of Development

8% of Ottawa youth had seriously considered attempting
suicide (OSDUHS, 2009).

Only 30% of Ottawa youth that rated their mental health as
poor had seen a mental health professional in the last year
(OSDUHS, 2009).
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Local Picture of Children and Youth
Mental Health at time of Development

Only 45% of grade 7 & 8 and 27% of grade
9 -12 students had rated their mental
health as excellent (OSDUHS, 2009).

The highest rate of emergency room visits
for self-harm is among females 15 and 19
years old in Ottawa (OPH Burden of Injury
Report, 2010).
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Working Together
 Youth Services Bureau
 Crossroads Children Centre
 Royal Ottawa Hospital
 Children’s Hospital of Eastern
Ontario (CHEO)
 Youth Net / Réseau Ado
 Max Keeping (CTV)
 Provincial Centre of Excellence
for Child and Youth Mental
Health
 Canadian Mental Health
Association
 Ottawa school
boards and
schools (both English and
French)
 Champlain LHIN
 Ottawa Distress Centre
 Centre for Addition and Mental
Health
 Children’s Aid Society
 Community Health and
Resource Centres
 Centre Psychosocial
 United Way
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Strategy Development
Reviewed policy recommendations,
literature and best practices
 Ontario Health Unit’s Mental Health
Environmental Scan
 Internal Ottawa Public Health Program
Consultations
 Local Partner Consultations

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Gaps in Mental Health and Suicide
Prevention Services in Community
Coordinated and comprehensive approach
to suicide prevention across the spectrum
Services for parents of young adolescents
Mental health promotion for children and
youth
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Strategy and Priority Actions
2011-2014
Community
Engagement
-Partnerships
-Capacity building
-Knowledge
transfer
Parental
Engagement
-Early ID
-Healthy
Transitions
Tertiary
Prevention
-Increasing access
-Building Suicide
safer community
Children &
Youth Mental
Health
Promotion and
Suicide
Prevention
Strategy
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Goals
Community Engagement
 Coordinated
community approach to
mental health / suicide
prevention
 De-stigmatize mental
health issues
 Raise awareness of
determinants of health
 Develop/build caring
and supportive
environments for
children and youth
Parental Engagement



Increase parents/
youth tools to
identify early
warning signs for
mental health
issues/suicide
Increase child
mental health
protective factors
Reduce risk-taking
behaviours in youth
Tertiary Prevention



Trained,
responsive staff
Increase access to
crisis and mental
health support
services
Increase capacity
of youth to seek
crisis and mental
health services
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Community Engagement
 Partnerships
-Community (Youth) Suicide Prevention Network
-Ottawa Suicide Prevention Coalition
-Student Support Leadership Initiative
 Capacity Building
-Youth Net
 Knowledge Transfer
-OSDUHS
-OPH’s Burden of Injury Report
-Physician’s Update
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OSDUHS Fact sheets
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Parental Engagement

Early Child Health Screening Partnership
-OPH Early Child Health PHN’s
-Crossroads Children Centre
-Centre Psychosocial

Healthy Transitions
-OPH School Health PHN’s
-OPH Youth Facilitators
-English/French Public and Catholic School Boards
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Tertiary Prevention
Increasing Access
-Fund additional 1 day/week of Youth
Services Bureau mental health walk-in
clinic
 Suicide Safer
-Provide suicide awareness and mental health

promotion workshops for OPH staff, community
partners and Ottawa residents
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Measuring our Impact
Program Evaluation: Healthy Transitions; Community (Youth) Suicide Prevention
Network initiatives; Training; Programming
•
•
•
•
•
Reach (parents, caregivers, teachers, youth, children, community partners)
Number of sessions; initiatives; policies developed
Behaviours, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, intention (pre and post)
Skill development
Referrals to services made
Youth Service Bureau Walk-in Mental Health Clinic
• Reach – number of families and youth seen
• Number of one-time and multiple visits to clinic by clients
• Referrals to other services made; services given
Surveillance: Ontario Drug Use and Health Survey, hospital data, screening
• Demographics, determinants of health
• Youth self-reported mental health, stress, depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts, body
image, bullying, mental health visits, other health behaviours
• Self-harm ER visits
• Attitudes and behaviours, mental fitness and well-being
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Key Accomplishments
Implementing Healthy Transitions
 Beginning Early Child Health Screening
Partnership
 Increasing Access to Services
 Building suicide safer community
 Transferring knowledge

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Lessons learned
REB challenges
 Partnerships key to success
 Stigma still a roadblock
 Public Health has role in mental health
promotion and suicide prevention

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Next steps
Build on success
 Continue monitoring trends
 Continue translating knowledge into
practice

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Partner Presentations

Crossroad’s Children Centre
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Ottawa Public Health Partnership
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Partner Presentation

Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa
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Youth Services
Bureau of
Ottawa
Impacting tomorrow, today
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1
Questions?
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Thank You!!!
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