The North End Community Health Centre will expand its mental health services with a $175,000 grant from the provincial government.
The new funding will assist group and peer mental health support, long-term counselling and the Pause: Mental Health Walk-In Program. The program aims to eliminate barriers for accessing mental health supports.
“The North End Community Health Centre is a long-standing community organization that has worked hard and adapted over the years, making it an important part of the fabric that makes up Halifax’s north end,” said Health and Wellness Minister Zach Churchill. “This investment is a recognition of the important role the centre plays in offering health services to its community and I am pleased to see its mental health supports expand.”
The support is available for those who have been experiencing barriers to formal mental health service because of homelessness or housing insecurity, systemic racism, substance use or who would benefit from support outside of a medical model of mental health services.
“As an organization that provides community supports, we strive to provide programming that addresses struggles that come up unexpectedly, or mental health issues that require community connection to solve. Daily we hear from community members about issues that cause anxiety, sadness or distress,” explained Marie-France LeBlanc, executive director, North End Community Health Centre. “By providing a walk-in mental health clinic and counselling right where people live, we hope to provide meaningful supports that address issues as they arise and avoid further crisis.”
The North End Community Health Centre is a non-profit, registered charitable organization that opened in 1971.
More than 60 staff members and health-care providers are dedicated to its vision of providing innovative, respectful and compassionate health and wellness services to a unique and culturally diverse community. Services include a primary care clinic, a dental clinic, Mobile Outreach Street Health (MOSH) and Housing First.
Due to public health measures the walk-in program is currently only providing phone-in supports, available by calling 1-800-598-5270.
