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Health Initiatives for Youth Hamilton serves youth age 12-24, residing in the downtown region of the City of Hamilton between Lake Ontario to the north, the Niagara Escarpment to the south, Highway 403 to the west and Red Hill Valley to the east.
Our phone number is blocked, so if we call your house the name of the Centre or our phone number will not be displayed. Health Initiatives for Youth does not use caller ID.
Your privacy is important to us. Your information will be not be given or told to anyone without your written permission except when we are required by law. This includes your parents, partner, and family doctor. For more information see Privacy Information.
From Planned Parenthood Society of Hamilton
to Health Initiatives for Youth Hamilton
Planned Parenthood Society of Hamilton has been in existence since 1932. It was started by a group of women who were concerned about the economic and physical effects on very poor women who experienced multiple pregnancies as a direct result of a lack of knowledge about family planning. Over the years the programs and services evolved and changed responding to the current community and social needs. The one value has remained constant.the dedication to the economically stressed individuals residing in Hamilton's downtown core.
During the last five years we have shifted our focus to the youth of the community. In addressing the particular needs of Hamilton's youth, we have developed a highly effective, tight-knit and multi-disciplinary team with wide scale knowledge of adolescent physical and emotional development. This team is successfully providing the specific services to meet their needs. All our services have a relationship with reproductive health, self-identity and emotional development. The services are presently provided through two (2) internal departments. City of Hamilton Public Health Department contracts the provision of clinical services until December 2006. The interdisciplinary team presently provides reproductive health assessments, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, cancer screening, low cost contraception, education, health promotion education and community referrals. The team consists of: a Medical Director who is a pediatrician, nurse practitioners; a registered nurse and a registered practical nurse. We have a strong linkage with pediatricians at McMaster University.
The Community Services Department currently receives funding from The Hamilton Community Foundation, Ontario Victims Services, National Crime Prevention and the organization's fundraising direct efforts. It provides workshops, courses and individual counseling at various youth serving organizations and schools where their youth are engaged in high-risk behaviour.
Over the past 2 years there has been an increasing demand by all stakeholders for services with a more holistic health focus, sex education awareness, and emotional assistance.
In the summer of 2005, Planned Parenthood Society of Hamilton undertook strategic planning. It sought feedback from its various stakeholders including those who receive service.
The community needs analysis revealed that youth are under-served by family practice and primary care in Hamilton. Studies of the physician supply in Ontario reveal that Hamilton has far fewer general and family practitioners than the provincial average. Youth between the ages of 18 and 24 are twice as likely to be without a family physician than any other age group. Almost 10% of Hamilton youth are without a family doctor (2000 Primary Care Survey, Hamilton District Health Council). Youth, seeking service at Planned Parenthood, report their own family physician's offices inaccessible, for a variety of reasons. Many have expressed concerns of confidentiality, others do not have a family physician, or feel that they do not receive patient centered care or do not feel that their family physician has knowledge of adolescent health issues, both physical and emotional. Further, youth (particularly males) are more likely to use hospital emergency services when they require primary care. At least one in five Hamilton residents does not have a family doctor, or at least 50,000 residents. The city needs 30 to 40 more family physicians (Hamilton Academy of Medicine, January 2005). A recent report (Addressing the Needs of Street-Involved & Homeless Youth in Hamilton, Hamilton Social Planning & Research Council, October 2005) found that there was a pressing need for the following services for these youth populations:
- Transitional/Supportive Housing
- Street Outreach
- Mental Health Services
- Substance use and misuse services
- Mentoring/Counselling/Emotional Support
- Barriers to/for diverse youth
- Access to primary care services
It was with this information, other community reports and profiles, as well as taking into consideration community requests that the Board of Directors approved the development of a youth health and wellness centre.
Health Initiatives for Youth Hamilton was born!
