It takes a village to tackle mental health and mental illness – that’s the message from Lee-Ann Reid with the Village Wellness Services in Brighton during Mental Health Week.
This sentiment is also the inspiration behind the name of the centre, which opened its doors at the 46 Prince St. plaza in January 2025 looking to help address growing need in a unique underserved area in Northumberland, which is also closely tied to the Quinte region.
“And we’re here (and if) we can be part of your village, then that’s wonderful,” adds Reid, a psychotherapist and clinical director of the centre.
Similarly, the official theme of Mental Health Week – running May 4 to 10 this year – is “Come Together, Canada.”
According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, efforts this year are also focusing on social connections and how meaningful relationships can support mental wellbeing.
“Social connection is essential to overall health and wellbeing – but too many people are feeling alone,” reports the CMHA. “In Canada, millions of people say they feel lonely often or always.”
According to the association, in any given year, one-in-five Canadians are living with mental illness. And by age 40, about half of Canada’s population will have or have had a mental illness in their lifetime.
Locally, more than a year after opening their doors, Reid also notes the need for help continues to soar – especially under child and youth therapy and the number of families reaching out for help.
“There’s such a need in our community for children to come in and to have their own space and to feel that they have some sort of external support to go through – (there are) a lot of different challenges that are kind of out there,” explains Reid.
Reid notes the centre’s services are many: There’s individual, relational, substance use and child and youth counselling, help for families struggling with divorce and for kids navigating living with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and then there are also seniors and personal support worker (PSW) services, to name a few.
But when it comes to help for kids and youth – whether it’s through supports through a divorce, a six-week program designed to empower kids and families with ADHD or child therapy and counselling services or parallel family care therapies – the demand is steadily increasing, so much so that the hiring of a second child therapist is in the works, explains Reid.
“We have had such an increase that our child therapist filled up relatively quickly, and we’re doing our best to manage wait-lists.”
A newer trend is also the number of young athletes turning to the centre looking for support, she adds.
Kids are trying to maneuver all of this – the rejection at times and the pressure – and it can be extremely tough on them trying to digest all of this, what it means and worries about what’s next for them and the future, explains Reid.
In an effort to address increasing demand for help and reduce barriers to care, the team also continues to work at providing flexible hours – and an operational expansion is coming.
The centre’s child therapist is already working in the evenings, and Reid says they’re looking to start offering services on Saturdays, recognizing families are working through the week and trying to squeeze in appointments after school, which can be a challenge.
The hope is to open Saturdays in late spring or early summer. The centre does also offer virtual care.
Reid also notes she believes there’s another important reason driving the number of people reaching out for help.
According to the CMHA, about 20 per cent of youth ages 25 and under experience a mental illness.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
