To celebrate International Women's Day, GuelphToday is featuring the six honourees for this year's Guelph Y Women of Distinction.
The kids are not alright, says local youth mental health advocate Cyndy Forsyth.
The inaugural director for the Integrated Youth Services Network (IYSN) has been speaking to the community about providing a new standard of care for young people in Guelph and Wellington County.
While the support for these services has been building up over the years, Forsyth says the pandemic has really brought youth mental health to the community’s attention.
“Community leaders have rallied around this, it is really remarkable,” she says about the progress, “The willingness of people from all walks of life from Guelph and Wellington County want to transform this broken system.”
“There is a need for change and now is the time."
For Forsyth, this project is one of the heart. When her daughter was navigating local mental health resources for more than 17 years, Forsyth recalls how frustrating the process was for the two of them.
“Every time my daughter and I were referred to the next expert or next physician, we had to tell her story over and over again,” says Forsyth, “and that’s traumatizing."
In August 2018, a Rotary Club of Guelph South presentation given by Dr. Joanne Henderson talked about youth wellness hubs, organizations where youth ages 12-26 can access a wide variety of resources for mental health, substance abuse and more.
When Henderson mentioned youth would only need to tell their story once to receive help, this motivated Forsyth to join a committee to see these spaces developed.
“That was really appealing to me and has stuck with me this whole journey that I am on.”
Since working with IYSN, facilities have been built in Erin and Palmerston with Fergus expecting its IYSN facility to open in June. Four IYSN facilities are coming to Guelph between 2022 and 2023.
Forsyth says her experiences as a mother and work in the nonprofit sector have secured her role as an advocate for this project.
“My professional life gave me credibility to speak with business leaders,” she explains, “And my experiences as a mother, gave me credibility to speak with those who have gone through what I’ve gone through, and what my daughter has gone through.”
Because of her advocacy, Forsyth has been named a Guelph Y Women of Distinction 2021. Forsyth says she is overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of the community for her advocacy, but mentions there has been a whole community behind IYSN who have made these spaces possible.
“The partnerships we have created and leveraged are absolutely phenomenal,” she says, “it speaks to the need, it doesn’t speak to one person, I just happen to be the face of it.”
