Empowering Youth: A Heartfelt Thank You to RBC Foundation for Enhancing Youth Mental Health Programs
By: Dr. Patricia Lingley-Pottie, CEO & Co-founder, Strongest Families Institute/IRIS software; Assistant Professor, Dalhousie University; Scientist, IWK Health Centre
Introduction
We are thrilled to extend our deepest gratitude to the RBC Foundation for their generous contribution of $25,000 to the Strongest Families Institute (SFI) in July 2023. With this invaluable support, we have now successfully enhanced our inline anxiety programs designed to assist youth and emerging adults in overcoming anxiety, depression, and stress. The support has also enabled us to make significant improvements that will have a lasting impact on the lives of the young people we serve across Atlantic Canada.
Achievements: Impact and Benefits Realized with RBC Foundation’s Support
Thanks to this donation, we have made significant strides in enhancing our mental health programs, resulting in profound benefits for the youth we support. The funding has enabled us to improve our approach to helping clients manage anxiety, depression, and stress, making our services more accessible, user-friendly, and impactful.
One of the most important objectives of this project was the simplification and automation of one of SFI’s core anxiety skills, called ‘Gradual Exposure’. Gradual exposure is the ‘gold-standard’ method used to help people of all ages successfully overcome anxiety. Gradual exposure, or in SFI terms ‘Worry List’, is a detailed plan to slowly guide youth in facing their biggest fear or worry, step-by-step. It can take time and effort for a youth struggling with anxiety to create a Worry List.
Through this funding, SFI was able to make needed online upgrades to automate its ‘Worry List feature’. This innovation automatically generates a tailored Worry List for SFI clients, making it an easier exercise while saving them time so they can better focus on combatting anxiety. With these improvements, SFI youth and clients of all ages will benefit for years to come. This automated Worry List will further help to empower youth to be in control of their mental health journey.
As a result of these online upgrades, more than 400 youth annually, ages 6 and up, will now have access to more effective mental health support. They will be better equipped to manage their challenges, build resilience, and move forward with a renewed sense of hope and well-being. RBC Foundation’s investment has not only enhanced our programs but also made a lasting difference in the lives of young people across the region.
Conclusion
We are deeply grateful for this commitment to empowering the next generation, and we look forward to continuing our work with the enhanced resources and outcomes that their funding has made possible.
Thank you, RBC Foundation, for helping us build a brighter, healthier future for youth across Canada!