New mental health classrooms are coming to Calgary courtesy funding from the Alberta government.
According to a release on Wednesday, the province said it will be opening 60 mental health classrooms across the province in the next three years. Around $197 million will be given to CASA Mental Health over three years (2023 to 2026) to fund its services, and $70 million of that funding will be used to support the mental health classroom program.
CASA Mental Health is a non-profit charitable organization that aims to deliver “holistic” and “culturally safe wrap-around” mental health services to Albertans aged three to 18, according to its website.
The organization also provides mental health services for diagnosed children and youth, including community care and acute treatment in hospitals.
The classrooms are designed to support students from grades 4 to 12, and each classroom can accommodate up to 12 students at a time from anywhere within the school district. Students will be able to receive professional care for their complex mental health challenges without disrupting their education and social lives, the province said.
Parents and caregivers will also be provided resources to support their child or youth throughout the program. A spokesperson for Alberta’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions told LiveWire Calgary that these services will be available at no cost and various school boards were consulted with input from Alberta Education.
“Alberta has seen an increase in challenges around mental health and addictions, especially coming out of the pandemic,” said Dan Williams, mental health and addictions minister.
“The truth is, with the difficulties and challenges around mental health, we know that kids need to be wrapped around with services. The mental health classrooms like the CASA Mental Health classrooms will have supports from psychiatrists, psychologists, physicians, nurses, registered psychiatric nurses and obviously mental health therapists and teachers.
Williams said the dedicated classrooms will help kids transition into the classroom so they can continue to live as a family member, a friend and member of the community.
This year, nine new mental health classrooms opened up across Alberta. Two of the classrooms are located in the Bishop Carroll High School and St. Cyril School, both in the Calgary Catholic School District.
Felicia Zuniga, a spokesperson for the Calgary Catholic School District, said funding for mental health resources is always welcomed, especially when the demand for these resources are growing within the district.
“We have such diverse needs, and there is a lot of need [for mental health supports], but is the funding going to be sustainable? Will we keep these classrooms and everything that comes with it?” Zuniga told LiveWire Calgary in an interview Thursday.
“We want this funding to continue. We don’t want a classroom just for one year. We need it to be ongoing.”
A Calgary Board of Education spokesperson confirmed to LiveWire Calgary that it will be opening a mental health classroom next February for “a small class of students in Grades 7 to 9.”
“This will allow for the delivery of immediate short-term mental health and medical care, family and additional support directly in the classroom,” read an emailed statement from CBE media relations.
“This class is one of nearly 300 specialized classes that CBE currently offers to support student learning and well-being.”
