Dalhousie Stay Connected

About the project:

On August 22, 2009, the world lost a talented, sensitive and enthusiastic individual when Alex
Fountain took his own life. He was 20 years old. Alex was the son of Fred and Elizabeth
Fountain, and dear brother of Katharine Fountain. In memory of Alex, Fred and Elizabeth have made an extraordinary gift to the QEII Foundation that will help young people stay connected.

The vision of the five-year Stay Connected Mental Health Project is to culturally shift how youth
and their families transition from pediatric to adult-based services, at the IWK Health Centre and Capital Health, respectively. The project will also help build closer partnerships with local
universities to support the mental health and addiction care needs of our students.

Through enhanced mental health literacy, strategic planning and collaborative approaches
across health care settings, we will overcome stigma, limited resources and system issues that
conspire to create barriers. The Stay Connected Mental Health Project will replace these
barriers with pathways to access care.

Background information:
- Untreated and under-treated mental health and addiction problems, particularly during
the transitional ages of 15-25, can contribute to high-risk behaviours such as suicide,
substance abuse and being bullied.
- At the age of 19, youth are transitioned from pediatric care at the IWK Health Centre to
adult-based mental health services available through Capital Health. Currently there are
gaps between the systems that need to be filled so our youth have a smoother transition
and do not feel lost.
- The Stay Connected Mental Health Project recognizes the disruption in the transition,
and aims to alter our health systems’ regular practice with youth and their families
transitioning to adult-based mental health services.

About us:

Through this project two students were hired for each university campus in HRM (Saint Mary's University, NSCAD, Mount Saint Vincent University, University of King's College, and Dalhousie University). These students received peer support training to help connect with students who are struggling with the challenges of university life and with their mental health.

On the Dalhousie campus Allison and Jeremy are here to listen. They are available to provide a safe, non-judgemental, and emphatic atmosphere. They can listen, help problem solve, and connect you to resources on the Dal campus and in the wider community.