Kneehill County council heard that two local experts on community mental health feel the stigma surrounding such issues is slowly shrinking. The presentation was made at the Nov. 14 regular meeting of council.
Councillors received a delegation from Kneehill Regional Family & Community Support Services (FCSS) family wellness workers Yvonne Wilson and Keara McGhee who presented the family wellness program (KFWP) 2022-23 annual report, a report that included a lot of positives in the realm of mental health.
Wilson noted in her presentation that the KFWP was born in 2020 through a partnership between the county and Golden Hills School Division with the goal of providing year-round social and emotional supports to Kneehill-area residents with a primary focus on children, youth and families.
Looking at the results Wilson noted stress and anxiety continue to be primary issues for children and youth that the workers come into contact with.
She noted what causes this issue can be different depending on the client and can include family, economic, social, or medical factors.
She stated that suicide ideation appears to have dropped in the Kneehill area, as the wellness workers supported five children and youth on the issue of suicide, a decrease of 15 from the previous year and 27 from 2020-21.
Wilson noted that absenteeism from school continues to be an issue with some children and youth but noted that attendance for some did become more consistent.
The family wellness workers provided councillors with a “stats & numbers” page that included a number of graphs illustrating the KFWP’s impact on the municipality in 2022-23, including 77 single-session clients and 108 ongoing clients.
Wilson stated adult clients’ top issue appears to be parenting strategies. “That’s always an adventure and a journey,” said Wilson.
Looking at children/youth, their top concern appears to be anxiety/stress.
As much of the KFWP involves children and youth, school is a big factor in this program. Wilson noted the annual report included positive feedback from youth who the family wellness workers connected with; one student wrote, “I really liked this program. It’s always nice to have someone that you can talk to and trust. I feel every school should have a family wellness worker.”
McGhee spoke next and told councillors the KFWP wants to know the effects its programs have on clients, so it conducts surveys.
The results of the surveys suggest KFWP has a strong, persistent positive effect on clients: one client wrote, “The program has given me tools to help combat my feelings in stressful situations.”
“So that feels good to hear,” said McGhee. She also pointed out the KFWP provides much preventative programming, including school presentations, displays, and awareness campaigns around issues like family violence. These programs also, noted McGhee, receive positive feedback from the public.
McGhee also pointed out the importance of partnerships, including with the school division, as KFWP may not be able to offer everything it does if not for partners.
During discussion Coun. Laura Lee Machell-Cunningham asked over what period the single session numbers are collected, to which Wilson answered those are collected over a 12-month timeframe.
When asked how online counselling is offered Wilson responded government and private counsellors are available for both adults and youth.
Machell-Cunningham noted many rural residents don’t have reliable internet service and wondered if people interested in online counselling could use the KFWP computers. Wilson answered people are welcome to use KFWP computers.
McGhee noted children and youth seem much more willing to seek mental help supports than she thought they’d be and suspect it’s because the stigma around mental health is slowly shrinking.
“They’re taking big, bold steps toward bettering their mental health,” said McGhee.
Reeve Ken King agreed with the workers that Kneehill County’s partnership with Golden Hills School Division is the kind of deal where everyone wins.
Councillors unanimously accepted the presentation as information.
Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
ECA Review