Chances Maple Ridge is helping kids who are struggling to find their way with a $20,000 donation to the Youth Wellness Centre.
The gaming centre made the contribution on March 30.
One in five kids will be affected by mental illness, which works out to 4,000 kids in Maple Ridge, said Shelley Grogan, manager of development at Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Community Services.
The Youth Wellness Centre opened last year and operates out of the Greg Moore Youth Centre, offering psychiatric help and helping connect kids to a range of services.
Dr. Melody Prim Smith, a Pitt Meadows physician, told Maple Ridge council earlier this year that there’s an “overwhelming need” for youth mental services.
If people reach adulthood untreated, they rely on acute care, emergency room visits and hospitalization, she said.
“It’s not a monthly thing, it’s a daily thing, kids coming in, struggling with these disorders.”
The centre is now moving towards becoming a complete pilot program, but needs to raise another $100,000 and wants to bring on a second psychiatrist and have the child advocate there full-time.
The program started last year, using about $46,000 in donations, with the city kicking in $10,000.
