Sun Life works with Quebec City to address mental health crisis among teens

Sun Life works with Quebec City to address mental health crisis among teens | Insurance Business Canada

Non-Profits & Charities

Sun Life works with Quebec City to address mental health crisis among teens

The $100,000 initiative will run over the next three years

Non-Profits & Charities

By
Mika Pangilinan

As part of a joint effort to address the mental health crisis impacting teenagers, Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand and Sun Life Canada president Jacques Goulet have announced the beneficiaries of the 2nd Mental Health Investment Fund.

The fund was established to provide essential support to more than 7,000 young people in the Quebec City area over the next three years, with Sun Life contributing $75,000 and Quebec City providing $25,000.

It was first announced at the Quebec City Mayor’s Ball in December 2022 and is focused on improving treatment and screening among vulnerable teens and raising awareness about mental health problems.

The recipient organizations are Accès PSY, BienAvecMonCorps, Centre de pédiatrie sociale de Québec, and Youth in Mind Foundation.

“Psychological distress is the number one factor in school dropout rates, and 50% of mental health problems begin before the age of 14,” the mayor said. “This fund gives organizations the means to act quickly and directly with teens—whether through prevention, awareness, or treatment initiatives—and ultimately change lives.”

“This fund will help increase awareness, prevention and access to care for thousands of young people in the Capitale-Nationale region,” he added.

Beneficiary mental health organizations

Funding for the beneficiary organizations is set to be allocated as follows:

Accès PSY, which focuses on promoting access to mental health services for low-income youth, will receive $36,000 to support 75 young people.
BienAvecMonCorps, a project centered around body image workshops for high school students, will receive $24,000 to facilitate workshops for 6,500 young people.
Centre de pédiatrie sociale de Québec, which aims to improve the mental health of socially disadvantaged youth through various therapeutic approaches, will receive $36,000 to assist 450 young people.
Youth in Mind Foundation, which offers free awareness workshops in Capitale-Nationale high schools, will receive $3,000 to reach 120 young people, plus another $1,000 for fund management.

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