Teen says leaving school for classes at mental health treatment centre was necessary path
CBC
Lennon Mulcaster said it was difficult to go through life because of what was expected of them.
The 17-year-old from Windsor, Ont., suffers from social anxiety and depression — causing them to struggle with academics since middle school, they said.
"I had basically completely shut down, and it was very difficult," said Mulcaster. "My parents tried to be supportive."
Mulcaster and their parents had them transferred to Maryvale, a local mental health treatment centre for students between grades eight and 12.
"There's a lot of pressure to choose career paths, especially now because I'm graduating soon. With my struggle in mental health, in schools, there's not a lot of support … and with traditional classrooms, there's like 20, 30 students in there. So teachers can't focus on you."
Roughly 10 years ago, Maryvale moved away from a residency model for dealing with youth addictions and mental health issues. Now, the facility offers daytime programming — mainly in a school classroom-type setting.
As previously reported by CBC News, some youth with complex special needs, in the care of the Windsor-Essex Children's Aid Society (WECAS), are ending up lodged in hotels. WECAS executive director Derrick Drouillard said parents and caregivers were "exhausted" trying to find the right supports and that it's a crisis across Ontario.
WATCH | A look inside Maryvale's youth mental health treatment centre:
"Basically, the goal is just to get you into that school setting. It doesn't matter if you're doing well."
According to Mulcaster, their life has "definitely improved" since beginning at the treatment centre.
They said there's "renewed hope" with an overall better quality of life — with more exposure to social interactions.
"I feel a lot more supported and more that people care about me, and not swept under the rug because you're not showing up."
Before entering the programs, Mulcaster said they were so depressed they couldn't even leave their room.
"Now I'm picturing myself in the future, having a job and having a family and having my own house, which will still probably be really difficult in this economy, but there's hope."
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
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