New play space to support youth at HSC 

Young people seeking help with their mental health have a new place to decompress.

It’s a new play space offering comfort in what might be some of the most difficult moments of a young person’s life. 

On Wednesday, a new indoor space at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences was unveiled to the public, with the aim of supporting children and teenagers who are receiving mental health treatments. 

“It’s a really good opportunity for them to have a space where they can decompress and destress from the situation that they’re in,” Val Mondor, the HSC’s Director of Health Services, Mental Health told reporters. 

“So it just offers another strategy, or another tool, in their tool kit to adjust and cope with some of the challenges they’re experiencing.”

Mondor explained of the 1,400 youth who require urgent mental health assessments in the province, roughly 600 of them are admitted for mental health issues like depression, anxiety and even thoughts of self harm, the new space helping them along on their recovery. 

The new indoor space features an open concept design and offers a variety of different options for youth, like listening to music and reading, alongside  physical activities like yoga, ping pong and guided fitness classes.

The new space, located in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit was funded by a $250,000 donation from Manitoba’s credit unions, with hopes of making a difference in the community.

Mondor herself says the space will become a place of support for young Manitobans in need and the donation will go a great distance. 

“This is an exceedingly challenging time for youth when they’re being admitted to the impatient unit in the mental health program,” she said.  

“This just offers an opportunity for them to engage in physical activity and calm activities that they wouldn’t otherwise have had access to prior to this very generous donation so we’re really excited to be able to offer that.”