YMCA program boost focuses on youth stress

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on January 12, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

The YMCA of Lethbridge is the beneficiary of $175,000 in federal funding to run a program for youth dealing with stress and anxiety.

The money is part of a $6.9 million initiative of the Public Health Agency of Canada aimed at promoting increased access to youth mental wellness supports through two YMCA programs called Y Mind and Mind Medicine.

Y Mind is “an innovative, youth-informed, early intervention program that helps teens and young adults manage stress and anxiety. Helping young people cope with anxiety and improve their sense of well-being, Y Mind introduces them to evidence-based tools and connects them with peers and experienced professionals,” says the YMCA.

It was developed in response to a need for free, accessible mental wellness supports.

Kristina Larkin, director of community programs at YMCA of Lethbridge, said Wednesday the local organization is running eight-week workshops for youth aged 12-18 and 18-30.

Interested parties can contact the YMCA and will be connected to a facilitator who will help determine if Y Mind is the right program for them, said Larkin.

“We know that everyone’s mental well being journey is different so Y Mind may or may not be the right fit for them and we’re really interested to know how else we can support them because we do have, of course, so many other resources for well-being at the Y,” added Larkin.

“We’re really excited to offer the Y Mind program,” she said.

“It’s evidence-based, well-researched, well-studied workshops that help young people manage their stress and anxiety and walk away with the tools in their toolbox as well as a community that can help them grow and maintain their well being,” she said.

Being a young person can be stressful, said Larkin, as youth grow to adulthood.

“What we’re hearing from all the youth that are participating in all of our other programs here at the YMCA is that stress is really high right now. They’re experiencing a lot of anxiety, they’re experiencing a lot of stress for all the different reasons related to the pandemic and school, technology and we just were really grateful to see this opportunity to be part of a national rollout of the Y Mind curriculum.”

The funding will allow the YMCA to run the program through the end of spring in 2024 “and we are really excited to see how it rolls out. We did our first round this past fall and we have another starting here at the end of January that people can still connect with us about,” said Larkin, with programs continuing to be staged for the next 18 months.

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