There is a new program to remove barriers and bridge the gaps in mental health and substance use treatment for young people in Kamloops.

Interior Health’s new Intensive Case Management Team will help people under the age of 24 who have had difficulty in accessing support programs and treatment.

Health Services Administrator Danielle Cameron says the team includes psychiatrists, nurses, counselors, and life skills workers.

“It is targeting that population that hasn’t been successful with their previous attempts with the system so it’s a layer of intensity that is over and above with some of our more traditional child and youth services,” she says. “With this new service, we’ve got another option to apply that sort of extra layer of support and health care services.”

Cameron adds a similar program for adults has been successful.

“We really are able to connect with individuals who historically we’ve had challenges with by having a more individualized approach to establishing that rapport and relationship in the beginning of their treatment journey.”

Funding for the program came from the province in the form of $900,000 a year to Interior Health, which will be split between teams in Kamloops and Kelowna.

The Intensive Case Management teams in Kelowna and Kamloops are part of a relatively new provincial model that also includes teams in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island.