Premier Scott Moe, Mental Health and Addictions Minister Tim McLeod, and Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill announced the expansion of the provincial government’s Mental Health Capacity Building (MHCB) school program at Peacock Collegiate’s library on the afternoon of April 25.
The announcement follows a recent expansion of the program to include five more schools across Saskatchewan and this now includes Peacock Collegiate in Moose Jaw.
“Mental health is a high priority for our government, particularly when it comes to children,” announced McLeod. “Since 2019, (the MHCB) program has promoted positive mental health in children, youth, families, and people in the community who interact with children’s learning.
“That is why we are adding five more schools to the (MHCB) program this year, for a total of 15 schools now in the program.”
Schools in the program can serve as resource hubs, thereby allowing students access to a range of mental health programming through a collaboration between schools, communities, and health care providers.
The MHCB program is led by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) with support from the Ministries of Health and Education.
Each enrolled school division receives additional funding from the SHA, thereby enabling them to hire MHCB staff who then deliver mental health programming, build capacity in others who work with children, youth and families, and to connect students with available supports.
Each school was selected through an application-based process and the expansion is made possible thanks to a $1 million addition to the Ministry of Health’s 2024-25 budget.
These five schools now include Peacock Collegiate in Moose Jaw, Lloydminster Composite High School, Carpenter High School in Meadow Lake, St. Alphonsus School in Yorkton, and Balfour Collegiate in Regina.
As selections are carried out by application, McLeod said any schools not yet enrolled can simply reach out with a formal letter of request.
“We’ve opened this up to applications from all school divisions (in the province),” Cockrill explained. “The goal here is to see this (program) in all 27 school divisions.”
Cockrill said the program includes LGBTQ+ students and those attending school in remote areas of the province.
“Our goal as the government is to ensure that all students, regardless of where they go to school, (and) regardless of what their home life looks like, have the supports that they need.”
Amanda Olson, the Prairie South School Division’s superintendent of learning, described the program as “a natural next step” for the division as it aligns with existing work on mental health and well-being.
“We are thrilled that a school in our division has been selected for the (MHCB) program’s expansion,” she said.
During the presentation, Grade 12 Peacock Collegiate student Abby Fuhr included a few words to provide a student’s perspective on the announcement.
“It’s important to have someone in the building with us when we’re having a stressful day, or having a panic attack, or if anxiety is really getting to us, (and) we have these teachers to help us,” she said.
“But they’re (often busy) teaching, and they can’t always help us immediately, so it’s really awesome to have somebody here that will be able to help us (at those times),” Fuhr added. “I’m very thankful to have you here.”
The program follows the government’s announcement of a record $574 million investment in mental health for 2024-25 with $3 million invested in the MHCB program to date.
Under the new Action Plan for Mental Health and Addictions, the provincial government is committed to further expanding the program to include all 27 school divisions within a five-year period ending in 2027.
