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OTTAWA, May 5, 2022 – CHEO’s YouthNet/RéseauAdo (YNRA) has released a new, interactive online mental health platform to help young people address the challenges of living through a global pandemic while staying connected and preserving their mental health.
“Youth flourish in environments that are familiar and safe. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has been anything but,” says Fiona Cooligan, YNRA’s Program Coordinator and former youth advisor for YouthNet. “School closures and the absence of crucial social connections have made it difficult for youth to thrive and their mental health has been dramatically impacted. Two years later, many of us continue living a diminished version of our pre-pandemic lives.”
The demand for mental health care, services and resources has significantly increased since the start of the pandemic. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic:
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Admissions to CHEO for eating disorders rose by 86% and re-admissions rose by 70%
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Visits to CHEO’s outpatient mental health service increased by 27%
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Mental health visits to CHEO’s Emergency Department increased 12%
As a platform grounded in the needs and guided by the voices of Ottawa’s young people, the Youth Mental Health E-Learning Hub is a partnership of Ottawa Public Health, YouthNet and CHEO’s Transitional Age Youth (TAY) program. The e-learning hub is a creative, bilingual resource, purposefully designed for-youth-by-youth in the Ottawa area. Its official launch coincides with Mental Health Week at CHEO and across Canada.
“We saw there was a need to make it easier for people to learn more about mental health and coping, especially during the pandemic,” says Tara Real, member of YNRA’s Youth Advisory Committee. “By making this an online resource, we made it easier to find good, reliable information presented especially for youth like me. We also made sure it connected to events happening at YouthNet and in our community, like our monthly coping challenges and other programs youth can sign up for.”
The mental health e-learning hub encourages youth to embark on a self-guided learning journey about mental health, stigma, stress and peer support while exploring lifesaving resources that are available to them.
“While this new platform was built for young people first, it is also a useful resource for teachers, parents, clinicians – really, anyone working with or supporting youth – to learn about mental health themselves or as a tool to engage youth in the vital conversation about health, stigma and reaching out for help,” says Cooligan.
The e-learning hub is built around exploring foundational mental health concepts, such as stress, coping, relationships, and stigma. As well, youth can discover opportunities to make real connections, get involved and contribute to a more caring youth mental health community.
“This much-needed and innovative resource provides access to reliable, safe and engaging information to support youth mental health and wellness,” says Benjamin Leikin, Program Manager of Mental Health and Substance Use Health Unit, Ottawa Public Health. “Kudos and thank you to YouthNet and all the youth involved!”
YNRA’s staff and youth leaders look forward to adding more to the e-learning hub and encouraging community educators and mental health advocates to use it as a resource.
Visit the Youth Mental Health E-Learning Hub.
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Media contact
Jesse Auguste, CHEO
o. 613-737-7600, ext. 3381 | jauguste@cheo.on.ca
About YouthNet
YouthNet/RéseauAdo (YNRA) is a bilingual, for youth by youth, mental-health and wellness program at CHEO. YNRA offers alternative support services for youth between the ages of 13 and 20. YNRA works at reducing the stigma surrounding mental health and illness through prevention and intervention programs, education, research and advocacy. To learn more visit ynra.ca or follow @CHEOyouthNet.
About CHEO
Based in Canada’s capital, CHEO is a globally renowned health institution with a mission to provide exceptional care and support to children, youth and their families. Opening our doors in 1974, we offer a full range of specialized pediatric care and services to children from eastern and northern Ontario, western Quebec and Nunavut. Our site is home to a hospital, a children’s treatment centre, a school, a research institute, and is affiliated with the University of Ottawa as an academic health science centre. Named Canada’s best health-care employer by Forbes in 2024 and 2025, we are home to more than 6,500 staff, clinicians, scientists and researchers, as well as volunteers – all of whom work together to help children and youth achieve their best lives.