Improving mental health services for homeless youth in downtown Montreal, Canada

Abstract

In many parts of the world, there is growing concern about youth homelessness. Homeless youth are particularly vulnerable to psychological distress, substance use and mental disorders, and premature mortality caused by suicide and drug overdose. However, their access to and use of mental health care is very limited.

The Réseau d’intervention de proximité auprès des jeunes (RIPAJ), a Montreal network of over 20 community stakeholders providing a wide array of cohesive services, was created to ease homeless youth’s access to mental health and psychosocial services. Its philosophy is that there should be no “wrong door” or “wrong timing” for youth seeking help. In 2014, the network partnered with the pan‐Canadian transformational research initiative, ACCESS Esprits ouverts.