PILOT PROGRAMS AIMS TO HELP CALGARY FAMILIES NAVIGATE YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM.

By Chandrayee Roy Choudhury, Canada: Erin Gionet says she had the worst night of her life when she called the ambulance fearing one of her teenage sons might take his own life. 



"It really, really scared me, and I just thought if I don't do everything I can to get help for my child, I will never forgive myself."The Calgary mother says it would have been a huge help and relief if they had someone guide them through the city's complex youth mental health landscape. 

Calgary youth and family mental health agency, is now trying to provide families with the kind of help Gionet says she needed. It launched a six-month navigation pilot project .



Working as the first-ever navigator is registered psychologist April MacDougall. 

MacDougall's job is to help families of children and youth navigate mental health and addiction services within the Calgary area. Her free service doesn't mean there won't be wait-lists or frustrations, but it does mean families have someone to talk to throughout the process.

Families have appreciated having someone to talk to about what's happening, somebody who's knowledgeable, someone who's connected within the system.

Gionet, who was working as a health-care researcher and doing her master's degree in health sciences at the University of Calgary decided to take a leave of absence from both. She wanted to focus on helping her son and navigating what she calls a confusing youth mental health system.