Bridging the Gap Between Clinical and Social: Accessible Mental Health Support

The Cause

Momentum has embraced the opportunity to merge with the Mental Health Co-Pilots (MHCP). This collaboration project will allow Momentum to expand our resources and perspectives, access enhanced volunteer support, and align our efforts toward our shared goal with the MHCP to promote accessible mental health support in Alberta. With enhanced resources, we are better equipped to address complex challenges present in the community, can help clients expand their networks of support, and can empower community cohesion. This collaboration will also provide opportunities for counselling and social work interns and clinical team members at Momentum to build skills in resource wayfinding and provide MHCP volunteers with clinical support when needed. Our merger will also provide additional opportunities for prospective counsellors to explore a career in mental health.

To ensure this collaboration project is successful, we recognize there is a need for a program manager/volunteer coordinator position that oversees human resources tasks related to onboarding, orientation, and training for MHCP volunteers providing mental health wayfinding services at Momentum.

A wayfinding service that employs an intersectional lens will help Albertan's to navigate the mental health care system as well as connect them to supports in the community that are tailored to their unique needs and values. Momentum strives to reduce barriers to accessing mental health care. Our mission is to strengthen the mental and emotional wellness of our community with education, connection, and support through professional, compassionate, and accessible counselling and group programs. However, when Momentum’s counselling services and group programs are not a good fit for individuals, wayfinding helps to connect them with mental health supports they need, when they need them.

Who Will it Benefit?

This service will benefit anyone looking for mental health supports and resources in the community. Wayfinding helps people find local services, understand and choose between treatment options, navigate cost and payment options, contact therapy providers to request an intake appointment, develop social connections, and more. Navigating options available for mental health care in the community can be time-consuming, overwhelming, and disheartening, especially at a time when individuals are vulnerable, struggling, or feeling hopeless. Wayfinding aims to share the load that individuals experience in their unique mental health journeys, and employs a strengths-based approach for personalized support that is aligned with diverse individual needs and values.

This project is expected to benefit over 1,000 current Momentum and MHCP service users and extend into the broader community. To address Momentum’s lowest metric, "improving networks of social support" (76%), we propose creating a role to oversee volunteers connecting clients with additional mental health resources.

This service will be especially useful for clients who require mental health support beyond the scope of Momentum’s solution-focused model of practice. Some examples include supports for substance use, domestic and family violence, 2SLGBTTQIA+, and culturally-informed and representative service providers.