The Summit: Marian & Jim Sinneave Centre for Youth Resilience provides mental health support for young people up to the age of 18 with the aim of helping them address issues as early as possible. Its new services include a walk-in clinic, intensive treatment and a day hospital—to help young people who are struggling with serious and urgent mental health needs. By giving families greater access to specialized mental health support in the community, they will be better equipped to manage issues before they become full-blown crises. Learn more at ahs.ca/thesummit

The Summit is the most robust research-intensive, community-based mental health care facility for young people in Canada. Every young person seeking care at The Summit will have the opportunity to benefit from and participate in advancing new therapies. In partnership with the University of Calgary, The Summit isalso a research and training hub that provides opportunities for inter-professional studies and mental health training at all levels. Research is integrated into all three services because in the same way science moves medicine forward for physical illnesses, it is a crucial part of identifying new and better therapies for mental health issues. The next generation of specialists who will benefit from training at The Summit will include medical, education, nursing, psychology and social work students; psychiatry, pediatric and family medicine residents; sub-specialty residents in developmental pediatrics and adolescent medicine, child and adolescent psychiatry; and trainees in allied disciplines including occupational and recreation therapy.

While there are many services provided through the AHS Child & Adolescent Addiction, Mental Health and Psychiatry Program (CAAMHPP) and other community agencies, The Summitisdesigned to fill a significant gap in acute outpatient services. For the most part, agencies in the community refer youth with a higher severity of illness and/or a safety risk to hospital Emergency Departments – previously the only option for treating acute mental health crises. The Summit now provides a much-needed alternative for families in a less-institutionalized, community-based environment.

The Summit is now open! Visit ahs.ca/thesummit for more information.

The Owerko Family Walk In Servicesareopen to all children and adolescents with mental health concerns. These services help families to better identify, develop treatment plans for and manage mental health issues before they escalate into crises. For more information, visit ahs.ca/thesummit

The decision to create The Summit grew out of concerns around increasing pressure for acute care services within the inpatient units and the Emergency Departments at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and other hospitals across the city. The Foundation is fortunate to have supporters who want to be part of the solution for this issue – people very sympathetic to both the mental health cause and the children’s hospital. Recognizing there are many agencies and services in the community working hard to provide care across the continuum, we believe mental health is such a significant issue that we all need to play our part and work together to reduce suffering for kids and families. We are proud to be another voice for mental health – to help further reduce stigma and find effective solutions for families in our community.

The Summit is not a hospital. In fact, it was designed to be warm, inviting and less institutional to encourage greater access to care. No patients stay overnight. Ambulances will only be at the centre if a young person needs immediate transport to a hospital Emergency Department or inpatient unit.

The Summit works in close partnership with the Alberta Children’s Hospital. It integrates into the continuum of services provided by the AHS Child and Adolescent Addiction, Mental Health and Psychiatry Program (CAAMHPP). Depending on the complexity of their conditions, some children and families may rely on care from both the hospital and The Summit. Many mental health specialists also work at both sites.

A: Leading mental health systems in Australia, England, Ireland and other parts of the world have shown that providing mental health services in a community-based non-institutional setting makes these services more accessible and acceptable to young people. Just as importantly, families have also expressed a desire for mental health services that are not in an institution-like setting. Many believe hospitals add to a negative stigma and deter young people from seeking treatment.

Our community generously contributed more than $50 million to fund the capital for the project, innovative mental health research, as well as new patient and family-centred initiatives like Peer Support and Acute at Home outreach services.

Through our collective efforts to build The Summit, in partnership with Alberta Health Services and the University of Calgary and, of course, our generous community, the need to support this equally vulnerable population became evident early on. Driven by feedback and concern, which has only grown with COVID-19, the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation is proud to once again find solutions for our community.

This initiative will lead to the development of a blend of both virtual and physical space, designed to deliver leading care and generate new knowledge in the most efficient and effective ways possible. How that will look will be informed through a phased approach, and after extensive consultation with young people and their families.

Mental health experts now recognize that young people between the ages of 16 and 24 have their own developmental, neurobiological and psychosocial characteristics different from both children and adults. This is a critical stage of development. In the Calgary area, emerging adults account for less than 11% of the population, yet they represent 27% of mental health inpatients and 21% of outpatients. Today, there is just one AHS service specifically designed to help emerging adults with moderate to severe illness. Demand has outpaced capacity with current wait times of over 12 months.

The Summit is located at 1015 – 17 Street NW and is open from 10 am to 10 pm, seven days a week. If the situation is an emergency, please call 9-1-1. If you're looking for services or resources regarding mental health, you can also call Access Mental Health at 1-877-303-2642.