(The second and final part to "Pathways to support")
When the average kid turns 19, they're far from being the full, functioning adult of a, say, 30-year-old.
Yet, when young adults suffer from a mental illness, they're provided with the same services given to adults - often meaning a significant drop in the supports they had when underage, and little transition between their old and now new situations.
"The system is pretty fragmented," said Jonny Morris, the director of public policy and campus mental health at the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) B.C. branch.
"It's quite a complex mix and young people usually get caught up in this mix."
This past April, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, the B.C. Representative of Children and Youth (RCY) released a report addressing the lack of transitional services for young adults aged 16-24.
It calls for a 10-year mental health plan to fix the gaps in service and increase communication between them. "Young adults also have different needs
than older adults," said Nerissa Yee, Pathways Clubhouse executive assistant and young adult program coordinator.
"Yes, they're looking for jobs and housing as well, but one of the main things is the social support."
Yee recently developed a young adult program at Richmond's Pathways.
"I found they wanted a place where they could come together and share the resources and make friends."
The program members meet regularly and organize social events such as paint ball. Youth-specific projects at Pathways generally evolve around social media and art.
Education is also more of a priority for the younger members, as a bout of mental illness could lead to interruptions in their studies.
Both Morris and Yee agree the youth they see warrant a separate category, as they straddle between childhood and adulthood. "The difficulty is they don't reach out until they really need it," said Yee. "With any young adult, they don't always know the direction they're going until they're there."
As a result, many community and hospital resources
focus on in-crisis care, rather than preventative. Those who aren't in emergency are placed on a waitlist, where "health can deteriorate quickly," said Morris.
One solution is to invest in the training of general physicians to become the youth's first point of contact.
It can encourage youth to seek help early because they won't have to find a mental health care professional.
"Most youth are afraid to seek help because it'll cause them to put a label on themselves," said Daniel Suen, an Asian youth outreach worker at Richmond Youth Services Agency. "They don't want their friends to find out, they don't want their family to see them as a patient."
To counter some of the stigma, Morris has engaged university campuses to raise awareness and create programming that catches struggling youth early.
One of the main causes many in this age group suffer from mood disorders such as depression is because of the transitions in their lives.
"It can be caused by kids moving away from their familial and old peer supports, higher levels of stress, or feeling isolated," said Morris. "Maybe they had good care in their home community and once they move, maintaining that relationship can be hard."
The initiative looks at both the individuals and the learning environment.
But public education surrounding youth and mental illness can and should start earlier. A report - conducted by a group of childserving agencies - was sent to the B.C. Coroners Service last week requesting better collection of information on youth-suicide victims - a growing number on university campuses.
The report concluded child and youth suicide remains highly complex and there is no way of accurately identifying which young people are at the highest risk.
Like the RCY report, it also recommended better access and communication between services for youth, as well as, intervention strategies at school districts.
