Manitoba funding 4 new beds in treatment facility for exploited youth

The Pallister government will fund a pilot project that will see four new beds added to an Indigenous treatment facility for exploited youth.

Families Minister Health Stefanson said Tuesday her government will spend just over $4.9 million in new funding over three years to help at-risk or exploited youth.

A total of $3.8 million will be spent on Neecheewam, an Indigenous non-profit that provides alternative home placements for youth in the province's child welfare system. The non-profit has treatment services for sexually exploited youth, which includes a four-bed crisis intervention program for female and transgender youth.

The cash will allow its current crisis stabilization unit to pilot a project that will see four beds added to the treatment facility, which helps youth deal with mental health and addictions to drugs like meth.

As part of the project, Neecheewam will make its admission process to the program more flexible. Right now if a youth checks in, they can't leave the secure facility.

Recognizing that relationship building and trust takes time to be earned, that will be changed going forward.

Young girls self-admitting

"We know that many of these young people, many of our girls will come and want to leave right away and then maybe want to come back right away," Cory Campbell, Neecheewam's executive director said.

Campbell said many young girls enter the non-profit program on their own through self-referral.

"They would come and knock on our door knowing that they wouldn't be able to just get up and simply leave. Some might say that is absolutely horrible that a child would choose to lock themselves up but I counter that with it is absolutely horrible that we have a need for sexual exploitation services," he said.

Mental health workers to hit streets

Stefanson said the government would also spend $751,000 to allow addictions counsellors and mental health workers to join StreetReach teams.

The thought is that by having more boots on the ground, workers can find more youth living with addictions including meth who haven't come forward asking for help, Dr. Jaye Miles, director of psychology at the Manitoba Adolescent Treatment Centre, said.

"We need to go to them and we need to go to them more readily and more easily. They need to see familiar faces so that if and when they're ready for mental health supports they know who they can reach out to."

Hundreds of youth at risk

She said at any given time there are at least 200 youth on the streets of Winnipeg at risk of being exploited and that number only includes kids on a high radar list.

Stefanson said the funding announcement will fulfil key recommendations in the Virgo report, the province's counter exploitation strategy Tracia's Trust, and the Manitoba Advocate for Children & Youth.