YouthLink doubles its therapy space with one-time funding
The OITP distributed more than $12 million in one-time funding last year to support agency investments in intensive services in Ontario.
YouthLink in Scarborough is a multiservice agency that offers youth and family counselling, community programs, and shelter and traditional housing support. Its leaders used this one-time funding opportunity to create more therapy capacity in the agency by acquiring more functional, space-appropriate furnishings for its therapy rooms.
Reconfigured to accommodate more clients
“We had inherited different types of furniture and chunky desks over the years. It wasn’t conducive to a therapeutic environment,” says Teresa Bansen, Director, Clinical Services & Live-In Treatment at YouthLink. With the funding, the agency was able to outfit its therapy spaces with more space-conscious and comfortable furnishings, resulting in a 75% increase in capacity for services to youth and families. “We had four designated therapy rooms available, and were able to add three more by replacing the furniture in other offices,” she says.
The agency also used funds to renovate and reconfigure space to create another therapy room. “This final additional room means we effectively doubled the capacity of therapy rooms available,” says Teresa. The expansion allows YouthLink to provide more programs and services for youth and families and will create a more versatile, flexible environment for different therapy sessions and groups, reducing wait times and improving service quality.
YouthLink also allocated a portion of its funding towards enhancing security, adding video monitoring at entrances and keyless entry to create a safer, more secure environment for clients and staff. “With these changes, we are better able to offer an environment where youth can focus on stabilization knowing that our environment is safe and the supports they need are available to them,” Teresa says.
