Graffiti-tagged RV becomes Ontario's first mobile mental health clinic

The 39-foot vehicle was created to address a lack of mental health services in the York Region and South Simcoe area.

Thestar.com
May 12, 2015
By Laura Armstrong

Young people in York Region and South Simcoe will have easier access to mental health services this week, when a first-of-its-kind mobile clinic hits the road disguised as a graffiti-tagged RV.

Mobile York South Simcoe - MOBYSS, for short - is the brainchild of the local chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association. It was born after the agency held community consultations two years ago and learned that addressing the region’s lack of mental health services for youth was a top priority for its members, said chapter CEO Rebecca Shields.

“So many people we serve say, ‘You know, I first started having symptoms when I was a kid and I wish I had gotten connected,” said Shields.

A recent report by Children’s Mental Health Ontario found more than 6,000 young people with severe mental illness will wait a year or more to access long-term counseling and treatment, forcing many to visit the emergency room when in crisis.

Dr. Pamela Walinksy, program manager for MOBYSS, said running the RV will cost about $250 per young person. “If we can avert hospitalization, think about the cost saving. It’s much more expensive for a child to end up in the emergency room.”

Emily Grice, 28, one of the clinic’s peer support specialists, said that when she was in her teens the only widely accessible service for young people in the area was a street-outreach van that handed out condoms and oversaw needle exchanges.

It wasn’t enough, Grice said.

“They had pamphlets and stuff, but nowhere to actually physically go and talk to somebody.”

Shields estimates that more than 22,000 young people York Region suffer mental health issues, and fewer than 5,000 are getting support.

While the lack of services is the biggest barrier, those who do manage to find support can also have difficulty getting to appointments, Shields said.

“If you live out in Keswick, you can’t get down to the hospital and back in time to be home for supper.”

So the retrofitted RV will bring the services to its young people, targeting those aged 12 to 25. The 39-foot vehicle houses a private exam room, a curtained-off space for one-on-one counselling and an open lounge, which nurse practitioner Michelle Hermans said the team hopes to one day use for group sessions.

Webcams connect the clinic to the Ontario Telemedicine Network. Over video, young people will be able to consult with specialists at Southlake Regional Health Centre, Markham Stouffville Hospital or Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences.

A nurse practitioner, a peer support specialist and a youth mental health worker will be on board six days a week, stopping at two locations per day. On the seventh day, the team will do follow-ups from the office while the RV is serviced.

The clinic is also equipped to treat sexual health issues, injury or illness. A GPS tracker is set up to share its location with patients online, though Shields said a set schedule will be implemented in the future.

The idea for the RV came from The Alex, a community health centre in Calgary that operates three mobile clinics: a community health bus, a youth health bus, and a dental health bus.

Drew Kostyniuk, a nurse practitioner who began working on The Alex’s community health bus four years ago, said the vast majority of people treated have mental health or addiction issues.

“A lot of patients have trouble keeping appointments or getting to the point (of their visit)” he said. “A lot of what we do is building relationships with people, providing them with a safe place to come.”

MOBYSS employees specialize in mental health care. But you wouldn’t know that’s the case just from looking at it; the grafitti-covered vehicle is simply labeled “youth clinic.”

That’s one of the RV’s main draws, said Sgt. Chris Palmer, who supervises the York Region police mental health response unit.

“The bus is not labeled mental health assistance, per se. The ability to be anonymous will be appealing. (Youth) don’t have to go to the Canadian Mental Health Association or the York Regional Police for help and be stigmatized.”

Shields said the team will conduct continuous evaluation and research, in hopes of making MOBYSS a model for others.

“It’s a true emergency diversion model, and it means that kids are getting the right care at the right time and in the right place.”