Youth Are In Crisis—and Better Access to Care Can’t Wait

As a master’s student studying to become a psychotherapist at the University of Guelph, Saraansh has given a lot of thought to the importance of mental health support. A first-generation Canadian with South Asian roots, he also knows first-hand how difficult finding culturally appropriate care can be.

When Saraansh first sought out therapy during his undergraduate years—at the peak of the COVID-19 lockdown—he struggled to find a therapist who he felt understood his specific cultural background and family dynamics. “My experiences didn’t fit into a Western framework of how families or relationships work,” he says. “In the end, it took almost two years to find someone he could relate to. “Once I found a South Asian therapist, it felt more like a shared experience—it didn’t make me feel so isolated.”

Saraansh’s story is just one of countless examples of young Canadians struggling to access the care they urgently need. Between exams, part-time work and a turbulent economic environment, young Canadians face more pressure than ever. According to new research from GreenShield, conducted in partnership with Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC), more than 80 per cent of Canada’s youth feel overwhelmed by stress and anxiety about their financial and career prospects. For racialized and 2SLGBTQI+ youth, those rates are even higher, at 85 and 90 per cent, respectively.

A growing crisis with too many barriers

Every year, more than 1 million youth across the country need mental health support—and yet nearly 60 per cent aren’t getting the care they need. Barriers range from difficulty navigating a complicated system to high costs, long wait times and complex intake processes. Youth from equity-deserving communities are faced with the added barrier of finding culturally appropriate care. 

To help change this experience for young people in Canada, GreenShield, Canada’s only national non-profit health and insurance organization, has launched the Youth Mental Health Ecosystem, a new pilot solution offering a first-of-its-kind, easy-to-navigate platform that connects youth to timely, affordable, and relevant care.  

“The youth mental health crisis in Canada is escalating,” says Mandy Mail, executive vice-president, head of GreenShield Cares. “We need unified, proactive solutions. GreenShield’s Youth Mental Health Ecosystem is powered by data and grounded in community partnerships. It delivers real impact by connecting young Canadians to the support they need faster, more effectively and more equitably.”

GreenShield believes health care is a right, not a privilege. Bringing insurance and care delivery under one roof, the company reinvests earnings into co-creating community programs that help close health equity gaps. Earlier this year, GreenShield partnered with MHRC to launch the Youth Mental Health Data Hub, a publicly available resource that centralizes data from leading youth organizations to identify trends shaping the lives of young Canadians across the country. 

Using insights from the data hub, the ecosystem is the latest evolution of GreenShield’s commitment, designed to address three of the biggest barriers youth face: navigation, affordability and equitable access to timely care.

A unified platform that makes finding support easier

The Youth Mental Health Ecosystem simplifies that process by providing a single, easy-to-navigate digital hub that connects users directly to trusted community partners including Jack.org, Tel-jeunes, Integrated Youth Services Networks and Trans Wellness Ontario. GreenShield plans to expand partnerships as the system evolves, widening the range of inclusive services available to youth.

Through these partners, youth aged 15 to 29 from equity-seeking populations can access free services, including personalized counselling and a one-year subscription to internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT).

GreenShield believes that it will take a collaborative movement to transform youth mental health across Canada. “Working alongside community partners and health care providers who share our mission, we’re removing barriers to care and empowering young people to access culturally appropriate support when and where they need it,” says Mail.

Saraansh was one of the many Canadian youths GreenShield consulted in designing the ecosystem to ensure their perspectives were accurately reflected. He says that what excites him most about GreenShield’s new ecosystem is its “matching tool,” which helps youth find a therapist who aligns with their cultural needs and preferences. “Looking for relevant care can feel like a huge task,” he says. “Having everything on one platform makes it easier and less exhausting to find the right fit.”

For students like Saraansh, the Youth Mental Health Ecosystem offers something that’s been desperately missing: not just access to care, but access to the right care. In a country where youth mental health has reached a breaking point, that distinction might matter most of all.