Anishnabeg Outreach is looking to prevent homelessness and help heal people’s trauma by providing mental health services through its new software program.
AO is a non-profit organization and serves Indigenous people in Guelph and Waterloo Region. It helps people overcome barriers, provides culturally-appropriate services and supports individuals to become successful.
The software called AONest received $150,000 of funding from the TELUS Future Friendly Foundation. The charity prioritizes funding to help youth through counselling, peer support and mentoring programs. The money will help roll-out the program. It also received $100,000 from RBC.
“What we discovered was, you actually can't help people become employed, or help them learn until they've actually healed,” said Stephen Jackson, AO CEO. If people are taught essential life skills and have access to mental health services, pursuing employment can be easier.
AO wants to make healing accessible to everyone, he said. Today, therapists help people with their mental health but there aren’t enough of them and wait lists to see a therapist are long.
AO is partnering with agencies like Guelph Community Health Centre, Compass Community Centre and Trillium Waldorf School Guelph to implement the program with staff and clients.
There are about 10 agencies AO wants to support with the program but it doesn’t have enough funding. It costs $150,000 to support each agency. Jackson believes AONest can end homelessness so he hopes people see the value of it and choose to donate towards it.
It is launching a donation campaign on June 17 to build support and momentum for AO.
AONest has 600 mental health courses and will have about 2,500 worksheets by the end of fall. It covers topics like emotional intelligence, ADHD, building healthy relationships and more. It is self-guided so people can pick the courses they want to work on at their own pace.
Caitlyn McComb has been involved with the development of AONest since the beginning. She is the director of strategic initiatives for AO.
“And we hear all the time from clients, as they call in, that mental health, whether it's for them specifically or family members, but that there's ongoing needs in the community,” said McComb.
There are long wait times for services or the services are expensive and inaccessible, she said.
The idea of filling the existing gap with a solution is something that interests people, she said. AONest is customizable so people can choose what they want to work on based on the support they’re seeking.
McComb lives in Guelph and sees the stress people are dealing with.
“And so we're just working to hopefully provide a resource that can help individuals navigate that and potentially a different way and a scalable way, because I just think there's overwhelming demand for mental health support, and not enough individuals who are able to provide those services,” she said.
Jackson wants to make AONest available in every city and reserve in Canada but he needs financial support to do it.
