Oolagen

Link

http://oolagen.org/are-you-a-young-person-seeking-help/

Overview

Oolagen, founded in 1967, is an accredited, not-for-profit mental health centre located in east Toronto. It is directly associated with the University of Toronto and its partners included the Toronto District School Board, the Children’s Aid and Catholic Children’s Aid Societies, Jewish Child and Family Services and Native Child and Family Services.

Oolagen’s vision and values centre around helping youth understand the unique strengths and skills that they already posses and help them utilize and build upon said abilities to enhance their wellbeing and mental health. They also place great emphasis on bringing families and communities into the fold; making sure that youth understand that natural support systems are a good and necessary thing. Finally Oolagen strives to address social justice issues that may affect their clients, trying to help draw links and solutions to how these issues may impact mental wellness.

One of the unique and extremely beneficial services provided by Oolagen is its free of cost “”What’s up walk-in” service, which is Toronto’s only city-wide adolescent mental health walk-in counseling service. This allows youth to come in without any prior appointment or long waiting period, something that can be a barrier to seeking assistance.

Oolagen also offers a residential live-in program at the Richard Kalesky house for youth aged 14-18. This program combines therapy, partnership, and group participation to help youth build skills and approaches to deal with challenges. The residency approach encourages group and community building.

Finally, Oolagen offers traditional ongoing-counseling services that include: Individual or Family Assessment, Advocacy, Case management, Individual, family and group counseling, Psychiatric consultation, Referral and, Follow-up. They also offer intensive counseling for youth with complex needs or uncommon circumstances.

Analysis

Oolagen is a great resource for a number of different reasons. First, its history and values show that it is an effective and accomplished agency, geared towards helping youth build themselves up. The focus on using support groups is something beneficial to many having troubles with mental health, as many issues or illnesses cause withdrawal or isolation.

The main reason why it has been included as a resource for young men is because of its “What’s up walkin” services. This walk-in counseling service provides an opportunity for young men with a range of mental health issues to talk to professionals without having to go on a long waitlist or book appointments. This ease of access is great as it removes a potential barrier. Though many of the clients attend only one walk-in counseling session, it sometimes only takes one session to provide the assistance that a young person may need.