Media Release
The Speak Up program as a new project, is designed to complement Fraser Health’s mind check program, which enables young people with mental health or substance use concerns to seek help as early as possible.
This program is the largest corporate contribution to youth and young adult mental health ever received in Fraser Health. The addition of the Speak Up program is made possible by a $432,000 donation from Coast Capital Savings to Surrey Hospital & Outpatient Centre Foundation.
SURREY, BC, December 8, 2014, — Based on 2010 BC population statistics and the World Health Organization’s estimated prevalence of mental illness, there are 263,982 youth in Fraser Health, and approximately 85,000 of them will experience mild to severe mental health issues. Mental health and substance abuse problems are the most common health issues experienced by young people in their teens and early ‘20s. About 73 per cent of mental health and substance abuse issues begin by age 24 and often go unrecognized and untreated today. One in five youth in BC will experience a mental health disorder serious enough to cause significant distress and affect their ability to function at home, at school and with their peers. Studies indicate that the majority of young people struggling with mental health concerns seek information or assistance from friends, families, and/or the Internet and are often reluctant to use professional services.
Now, Fraser Health is adding an innovative Speak Up program to increase the mental health education and peer-support services available to the region’s youth and young adults. The “Speak Up” program is evaluated by establishing the Speak Up Gallery on the mindcheck.ca website, and a youth peer mentor network, which provide a unique online community designed to facilitate teens and young adults in sharing their experiences in different ways, including words, video, audio and art. Significantly, it is also increasing the education that Fraser Health will be able to provide to help youth understand that information and support is available if they have mental health or substance use questions or concerns. The expansion will enable this education to take place in all 49 high schools across Fraser Health, as well as four colleges/universities. (The school component previously ran in 25 high schools in Surrey and Delta only.)
To learn more about the Speak Up program visit https://championsforcare.com/
Surrey Hospital & Outpatient Centre Foundation (formerly Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation, https://championsforcare.com/) champions exceptional care for patients and families living south of the Fraser by raising funds for Surrey Memorial Hospital and the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre. Surrey Memorial is a recently transformed acute care hospital, and the outpatient centre is a state-of the-art facility for clinic visits, diagnostic tests and day surgeries. Together, they form BC’s largest health care campus outside of Vancouver and BC’s newest teaching centre. Our donors make a difference by helping the Foundation support innovative equipment and projects that help Fraser Health to attract the best doctors and health care professionals to work in Surrey.
For more information:
Belinda Jin
Surrey Hospital & Outpatient Centre Foundation
Director, Marketing & Communications
xxx-xxx-xxxx, ext. xxx
[email protected]