NOR’WEST
HEALTHY ATTITUDE, HEALTHY
(From left) Margaret Day, Grant Mitchell, Adam Emerson and Shannon Burns serve up free, healthy meals through Nor’West’s food service centre. Photo by Darcy Finley
COMMUNITY Nor’West Co-op engaging neighbourhood on health and wellness BY JIM BENDER O ffering a variety of different services has often paid off for the Nor’West Co-op Community Health. areas of mental health and addictions. One in four Manitobans aged 10 and over have been diagnosed with a mood or anxiety disorder, Horodecki says. It has also been reported that 75 per cent of mental illness starts before the age of 24. “So, the window of intervention is really small and really important,” Horodecki says.
For example, one of the programs offered as part of the co-op’s relatively new Youth Hub centre is fun recreational activities. It also includes services in the areas of mental health, primary care, addictions, Indigenous cultural support and training for employment. “We had one 15-year-old youth who did not come in for counselling, she just wanted to visit (during the recreational activities),” recalls Laura Horodecki, a project manager who oversees many programs, including the Youth Hub. “So, it was just a matter of spending some time at the Youth Hub and the youth got comfortable enough that she eventually asked to see a counsellor. It turned out that she experienced some serious mental health issues and, after a number of visits to the counsellor, she recognized how much it helped her. “For our staff, it’s wonderful that they can make such an impact on youth. It’s rewarding.” The Youth Hub was established to help youth aged 14 to 24, particularly in the
The Youth Hub also trains the youth for both part-time and full-time jobs, and helps some get into post-secondary schools. It has helped more than 2,000 young people since it started in 2017, including about 500 high-risk youth, Horodecki says. It was recently reported that the Youth Hub will get $823,000 over three years from the Province of Manitoba. That money will be used to expand the program, hire more employees and lower the age of eligibility to 12 from 14, increasing the number of kids it can help, Horodecki says. The Youth Hub is just one of 31 programs offered by Manitoba’s only healthcare co-op. Members pay $10 for a lifetime membership which can be waived depending on their financial circumstances. That gives them a say in how the co-op is operated, to vote on
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WINTER 2019
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