Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare wants you to know the organization is hear to help as we all deal with the stresses of COVID-19 and sending our kids back to school.
According to Hôtel-Dieu officials, there has been increasing demand for accessing community child and youth mental health services across the province, even before the pandemic.
Rob Moroz, Director of the HDGH Regional Children's Centre, says the biggest stressor is that we're all in uncharted waters and there isn't one answer to solve problems when it comes to our kids.
"Kids need to be socializing, they need to have routine, they need to be in schools and they need to be doing that safely," he says. "We also have to make sure that their mental health needs are being met and what I really think what we need to do is look at how we can normalize where we're at right now because COVID is not going away."
Moroz says if parents have any concerns about what's going on their their child, they should reach out.
"I think sometimes just getting a check on what you're doing and just getting affirmation that what you're doing and that the needs of the child are being met and their mental health needs are sound can often help, but if not, you can connect up with other services as well but I think people just need to reach out and connect," he says.
Moroz says a wide variety of services are offered including counselling on very short notice.
"We offer parenting services and support services, not just classes but a wide range of parental supports. We also offer youth justice services and intensive treatment services which is behavioural work that we do."
There are more than 100 staff of social workers, psychologists, management team and support staff at HDGH Regional Children's Centre.
With files from Patty Handysides