Front Door is your starting point for accessing child and youth mental health services and supports in Waterloo Region. Front Door offers parents/caregivers with babies, children and youth up to 18 years of age a safe, confidential environment to discuss your situation. Our trained professionals listen, offer support and can help you identify next steps. When you come to Front Door, we will: - listen to your situation, concerns and needs - ask questions so we are sure we understand - provide support and guidance - work with you to develop a plan for moving forward - provide information on community services and referrals to more intensive mental health treatment services.

The Partners program provides in-home, virtual or community-based support for families with children. By reinforcing family strengths and building coping skills and resiliency, Partners enhances the ability of parents, caregivers and children to function as a healthy family unit. Each family is assigned a Partners Family Support Worker who will work directly with you for 1-3 hours a week to set achievable individualized treatment goals, develop skills, practice strategies to address challenges and monitor progress.

Connect Parent Group is a supportive 10-week program for parents and caregivers of pre-teens and teens experiencing significant behavioral and mental health challenges. The group meets once a week and is led by two facilitators who guide participants through emotion-focused, experiential and reflective exercises that will increase your understanding of attachment and adolescent mental health. Parents and caregivers will develop skills in recognizing and regulating their own emotions, empathy, listening and responding with sensitivity, and working collaboratively with their teen in reaching expectations, setting limits and ensuring safety.

Mental Health Youth Court Worker is a mental health professional who is present at the court and available to youth, families/caregivers, and members of the court (lawyers, judges) for assistance and consultation when mental health challenges are believed to be a factor. The Youth Court Worker is available for consultation to clarify issues related to mental health concerns or confirmed diagnoses. The worker is knowledgeable and familiar with the process for accessing local mental health services and resources for youth.

Mobile Crisis provides a variety of supports and services that focus on an urgent need for stabilization of youth and their families in crisis. It provides rapid response to urgent matters but is not meant to replace community emergency services. Our Mobile Crisis Service team works with children, youth and their families to develop a coping/safety plan and will link the family to appropriate community supports and services as needed.

Safe Haven Crisis and Respite Services offers immediate, time-limited out-of-home services in response to a crisis that places the child/youth or others at serious risk of harm within their current living environment. Youth may be experiencing any combination of family violence, abuse, neglect, substance use issues and/or mental health issues. A range of these issues may also be present not only for the youth themselves, but also among their family members or within the broader family environment. Safe Haven Crisis Services supports youth and families to manage immediate crises, build understanding of presenting issues, and connect with needed services such as treatment, addiction, or hospital supports, while also providing case management, basic needs, medical care, counselling, safety and discharge planning, recreation, and links to community and parental supports.

The Day Treatment Program – Under 12 Stream is a therapeutic service for children and youth who are experiencing significant emotional, social, and/or behavioural difficulties that are making it difficult to be successful in their home school setting despite other supports and interventions. In partnership with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, this program combines a supportive school environment with therapeutic and skill-teaching activities designed to foster healthy development and the attainment of treatment goals. Each classroom has a low staff to student ratio with one Teacher and one Child and Youth Counsellor in each classroom with up to 8 children. This ensures children are supported through guided activities to help them practice the skills and strategies they are learning.

Day Treatment Over 12 stream is a therapeutic service for youth who are experiencing significant emotional and behavioural difficulties. In partnership with the Waterloo Region District School Board, this program combines a supportive school environment with therapeutic and skill training activities designed to foster normal adolescent growth and reach treatment goals. The length of the program varies and is based upon the individual needs and treatment goals. The Day Treatment team works collaboratively with staff from the home school to help the youth successfully transition back upon discharge from the program.

The Woodlands Live-In Treatment program is a therapeutic service for youth who are experiencing significant mental health, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Combining a family-based treatment model and a supportive school environment with therapeutic and skills training activities, this program helps to foster normal adolescent growth, healthy family relationships and achieve treatment goals. Program provides: - individual, family and group counselling based on treatment goals - individualized school program and the opportunity to attain credits - skills teaching and coaching of Dialectical Behaviour Informed Therapy (DBT-I) strategies (life skills, emotion management, positive peer interactions and self-esteem) - health education - indoor and outdoor recreation, aquatic programming and community outings - home and community reintegration support - crisis support - assessments, as required

The Birchlands Step-Up Step-Down Program is designed for youth who are experiencing significant mental health difficulties. A brief stay will support stabilization, dialectical behaviour skill building and transition, allowing for a planned return to their home environment and community. Upon return to their home environment, program staff will provide continued service to support a successful transition and connection to community support. A key component of the program will be collaboration with families/caregivers and community support throughout the course of the program. Youth can Step-Up from outpatient or community-based services to prevent a hospital stay or Step-Down from various intensive services, including hospitals or secure treatment, for additional stabilization and transition support.

The Substance Use Services program supports youth who are experiencing challenges with substance use through voluntary, trauma- and attachment-informed counselling, education, and family support. Using a harm-reduction, stepped-care model, the program integrates individualized, evidence-based interventions to address substance use, concurrent mental health needs, and related social factors.