The funding is provided through the Foundation’s 2017 Grants Program, which supports targeted programs aligned with child and youth mental health, PTSD, and type 2 diabetes.

• A $10,000 grant to Alice Housing is helping to fund Healing the Bruises, a program providing in-depth counselling and support to children and youth, as well as parental coaching, in helping them recover from the devastating effects of domestic violence.

• Avalon Sexual Assault Centre is using a $15,000 grant to fund their Sexual Assault Navigation Service. This service ensures victims of sexualized violence receive timely access to specialized, trauma-informed care in an effort to lessen the negative effects on the victim’s mental health and prevent the onset of PTSD.

• A $25,000 grant to Hope Blooms will fund their Youth Navigator program in helping marginalized youth navigate and utilize the mental health systems available to them. The program empowers youth to be actively engaged in their communities while building mental resiliency and life skills.

• A $20,000 grant to Kids Help Phone is supporting BroTalk, focused on the mental and emotional health of young men, tackling issues such as stigma and gender stereotypes through content and direct connection to counselling services. This is the second year of funding for BroTalk, bringing our funding support to $40,000.

• A $30,000 grant to Phoenix Youth Programs is helping provide mental health programming and support for at-risk and homeless youth ages 16-24, including healthcare system navigation and counselling. This grant brings our funding support of Phoenix to $120,000.

These are five of the 23 organizations receiving funding through Medavie Health Foundation’s 2017 Grants Program. Since late 2011, the Foundation has committed over $10.7 million to single and multi-year grant and partnership programs, some of which have yet to be announced.

Quick Facts

• Witnessing domestic violence has serious consequences on a child’s psychological, social, academic, behavioural and emotional development.
• Victims of sexual assault are three times more likely to suffer from depression, six times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol, 26 times more likely to abuse drugs, and four times more likely to contemplate suicide. ¹
• 70% of mental health problems have their onset during childhood or adolescence. Young people aged 15 to 24 are more likely to experience mental illness or substance use disorders than any other age group.²

Associated Links

Alice Housing
Avalon Sexual Assault Centre
Hope Blooms
Phoenix Youth Programs
Kids Help Phone

¹ World Health Organization, 2002
² Centre for Addiction and Mental Health