WORKSHOP: Meeting Youth Where They Are: New Innovative Service Delivery to Underserved Areas

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze client data and outcomes from Anam to understand how mobile outreach improves engagement, regulation, and crisis reduction among at-risk youth; 
2. Evaluate the relevance of trauma-integrated, community-based models in complementing psychiatric care and advancing health equity in underserved populations;
3. Consider opportunities for collaboration between psychiatry and non-traditional service models to improve accessibility and continuity of care;
4. Identify barriers that rural, marginalized, and system-disconnected youth face in accessing traditional psychiatric and mental health services; and
5. Describe the Anam model of mobile, trauma-integrated, one-on-one support, and how it differs from conventional clinic-based approaches.

Abstract

Meeting Youth Where They Are: New Innovative Service Delivery to Underserved Areas Traditional clinic-based mental health services often fail to reach marginalized, at-risk, rural youth and young adults who face barriers such as transportation challenges, stigma, generational trauma, and disconnection from formal systems. These barriers contribute to the chronic underrepresentation of these populations in both psychiatric care and mental health research, leaving critical needs unaddressed and widening equity gaps. 

In response, the Anam Rural Youth Association (Anam) was founded to provide a free, mobile, one-on-one, trauma-integrated mental health support model designed specifically for youth and young adults who have not been successful in traditional settings. Anam removes access barriers by meeting youth where they are, physically within their communities and relationally in ways that respect their developmental, cultural, and lived experiences. 

Since its inception, Anam has supported clients across more than 40 rural communities across Central Alberta. Referral data indicate that the majority of clients present with complex trauma histories, crisis- related needs, and longstanding system disconnection. Key statistics include total referrals received, client demographics, gender breakdown, primary reasons for referral, rates of CFS and RCMP involvement, substance use patterns, household composition, and referral sources. 

Beyond quantitative measures, qualitative insights demonstrate increased emotional regulation, strengthened trust in service providers, and reduced crisis escalation following engagement. This model highlights the effectiveness of flexible, trauma-integrated outreach in fostering meaningful engagement with mental health services. 

Literature References

1. Perry, B. D., & Szalavitz, M. (2017). The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook. New York: Basic Books. 
2. Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. New York: W.W. Norton. 
3. Ungar, M. (2011). The social ecology of resilience: Addressing contextual and cultural ambiguity of a nascent construct. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81(1), 1-17. 
4. Government of Alberta. (2023). Child and Youth Well-Being Review: Final Report.