IYS 2025 Mid-Year Recap

Written By Kai Communications

The first half of 2025 has been a busy and energizing time for Integrated Youth Services (IYS) in Canada.

The year started with IYS networks gathering at IAYMH to share their exciting work and expertise, opening the door to a year filled with growth for the pan-Canadian IYS CC and IYS Data platform teams alongside expansion and exciting updates for many IYS jurisdictions.

Opening presentation at IAYMH 2025. Photo courtesy of Alexandra San Diego.

Pan Canadian IYS Updates 

IYS at IAYMH

We kicked off the year at the 7th International Association for Youth Mental Health (IAYMH) conference in Vancouver, BC — a gathering that brought together hundreds of youth mental health leaders and innovators from around the world.

Several IYS networks showcased groundbreaking work alongside their young people, demonstrating the power of meaningful youth engagement.

A major highlight was the RBC Lounge, where we had the opportunity to introduce IYS in Canada to a global audience. This space allowed us to spotlight diverse IYS initiatives across the country, facilitate connections among partners, and spark important conversations on integrated approaches to youth mental health.

Many attendees were discovering the broader IYS model for the first time. While some were familiar with individual networks or programs, the conference helped illuminate the collective vision and strength of a Pan-Canadian IYS approach.

Thanks to strong partnerships — from RBC’s generous support to the vibrant promotional efforts of our IYS networks — we made a memorable impact as a united movement.

The conference also provided a valuable opportunity to gather the Integrated Youth Services Collaboration Centre Interim Strategic Leadership Team in person, bringing together practice leads and research leads from across the country. Together, we explored critical topics, including youth and family engagement, Indigenous engagement, and communications.

We capped off the event with a lively social gathering, celebrating the shared commitment and momentum driving IYS forward in Canada.

IYS Funding & Opportunities

In February 2025, the Government of Canada announced the first projects to receive funding under the Youth Mental Health Fund. These projects will represent a total investment of more than $46 million over five years. A central priority of the Youth Mental Health Fund is the expansion of the Integrated Youth Services (IYS) model and building capacity in community-based organizations that provide youth-specific mental health services.

The awardees included Foundry (BC), Huddle (MB), Choices for Youth (NL), and YWHO (ON).

With this crucial funding, Huddle plans to open two additional Huddle youth hubs to enhance and expand direct services for youth across Manitoba. 

Additionally, Huddle is being guided by an Indigenous evaluator to align hubs more strongly with decolonial principles, while also expanding its Service Navigation Specialist model throughout the province, linking more students in high schools to nearby supports in the community.

YWHO will focus on community integration efforts with specialized, culturally competent care, along with strengthening and expanding Integrated Youth Services for equity-deserving youth across Ontario. They are also aiming to enhance collaboration between Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario Hub Networks and community organizations.

Foundry will be using the funding to support the expansion of hubs to more communities, to reach youth who lack physical access to care for equity-deserving populations, including Black, Indigenous and People of Colour, sexually-diverse and gender-diverse youth.

Finally, Choices for Youth will be expanding Family and Natural Supports programs to support children, youth and young families access to mental health, housing, education and employment, and other wrap-around social services.

Members of the Interim IYS CC Strategic Leadership Table meeting during IAYMH. Photo courtesy of Alexandra San Diego.

IYS Collaboration Centre (IYS CC)

IYS CC Team Updates

It has also been a busy time as the Integrated Youth Services Collaboration Centre and the IYS Data Platform build their pan-Canadian teams. Since January 2025, the IYS CC has responded to 35 knowledge requests from 10 provinces and territories, spanning critical topics such as youth peer support training, measurement-based care, Indigenous Elder compensation, and service model development.

The last six months have seen the addition of the following roles: Program Manager; Office Manager; Youth Engagement Specialist, Leader Knowledge Mobilization, Education and Training; Director, Pan-Canadian Research and Implementation Initiatives; Director, Pan-Canadian IYS Collaboration Centre, Practice and Partnerships; Indigenous Partnership Specialist. Recruitment is ongoing for additional roles.

All current opportunities can be found here.

IYS CC Leadership and Governance Updates

The Interim IYS CC Strategic Leadership Table is responsible for providing strategic guidance for the Integrated Youth Centre Collaboration Centre until a permanent governance structure is established. Since January 2025, the IYS CC Interim Strategic Leadership Table has met 5 times, with full representation from every province and territory.

The IYS CC brings together leaders specializing in implementation and research from IYS initiatives across Canada; along with two co-Chairs - our Co-Executive Directors Steve Mathias & Jo Henderson. Operating under a shared leadership model to provide strategic guidance for activities and decisions in the first 12 months, the IYS CC Interim Strategic Leadership Table is accountable to the Provincial and Territorial IYS Networks in Canada and the young people and families whom they serve.

The Table will support CAMH and the Co-Executive Directors to report to Health Canada, as the primary funder of the IYS CC initiative. Additionally, the Co-Executive Directors of the IYS CC will provide regular updates to the Interim Strategic Leadership Table on the progress and activities of the IYS CC, and the Interim Strategic Leadership Table will provide feedback and guidance as needed.

IYS CC CoP Updates

Several pan-Canadian IYS Communities of Practice (CoPs) have been established to support and uplift the work happening across IYS networks in Canada. These CoPs create dedicated spaces where subject matter experts can connect, build capacity, and share their experiences and lessons learned.

The IYS CC currently supports over 100 members across 5 Communities of Practice, with every province and territory participating. By fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange, these communities help ensure staff feel supported and connected in their work. Current CoP focus areas include Youth and Family/ Caregiver Engagement, Rural and Remote Communities, Research, and Communications, with additional CoPs in development. 

IYS Partners from across Canada.

IYS Data Platform

The Pan-Canadian IYS Data Platform is beginning to take meaningful shape through the collective efforts of youth, family members and system partners across the country. Designed as a federated system, the platform will help us share knowledge, improve services, and support better outcomes for youth.

A new IYS Pan-Canadian Data Platform Youth Advisory Group has been formed, with young people from coast to coast helping guide decisions on privacy, access, and what matters most to youth as we work towards a Canada-wide IYS Learning Health System. 

Various project governance groups - made up of youth, family members, researchers, subject matter experts, and service providers from across IYS networks in Canada - are also now meeting to support the development of the platform. Our vendor partner, Arctiq, has entered the design phase of work, collaborating closely with technical teams and partners to build a strong foundation. We’re also developing early platform use cases, including a national IYS Site & Services Map and tools that will help us better understand how youth are accessing IYS services across Canada. Finally, the IYS Network partners can now access flexible funding to support data-related roles. We’re working directly with partners to flow those funds and provide support as they build data capacity.


If you are interest in learning more or getting involved in the Pan-Canadian IYS Data Platform project, please reach out to Alenka Bullen, Senior Project Manager, Pan-Canadian IYS Data Platform at Alenka.Bullen@camh.ca.

News from Around the Networks

  • Kickstand Edmonton opened in February 2025 inside the world-famous West Edmonton Mall, welcoming the West Edmonton Primary Care Network in June 2025. The site offers a mix of mental health counselling, Indigenous wellness, life skills programming, and now, primary care — all in a youth-designed space.

    Kickstand also opened their Drayton Valley location in June 2025! Many partners and supports came together to make this possible: The Government of Alberta, The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, The Mental Health Foundation, The Drayton Valley Council and The Elders of the Drayton Valley community, and the lead agency - the Drayton Valley Primary Care Network.

  • Foundry centers are operational and additional funding has been secured to expand and develop more locations. Last March, they announced that another 10 new centres would be opening across British Columbia. 

    Additionally, Foundry Head Scientist Dr. Skye Barbic achieved an industry milestone in being awarded the first ever Canada Research Chair in Integrated Youth Services. One topic of research under Dr. Barbic’s Canada Research Chair will be  measurement-based care—a client-centred approach that enhances care.

  • Huddle Service Navigator Specialists (SNSs):

    Huddle and the Winnipeg School District co-presented their successful SNS (Service Navigator Specialists) program at IAYMH, showcasing the collaborative and co-designed framework. With the recent $3.5 million investment from the federal Youth Mental Health Fund, Huddle Service Navigators will continue supporting Winnipeg students—and more SNSs will be embedded in schools in Brandon, Selkirk, northern Manitoba, and rural/southern Manitoba over the next few years.

    Portage La Prairie: 

    Huddle also announced their first hub for southern Manitoba in Portage la Prairie, making it faster and easier for young people to find a wide array of youth-friendly wraparound supports—all under one caring and welcoming roof.

    The youth hub will be co-located with Youth Connect—a new model of care offered by Indigenous-led or partnered initiatives to uplift young people aging out of the child welfare system or facing housing instability.

    With the addition of the new location in Portage la Prairie, Huddle now offers a total of seven youth hubs across the province, with another hub planned for Northern Manitoba.

  • In February 2025, NL-IYS was announced as one of the first six projects to receive funding under the Youth Mental Health Fund. In 2024, Choices for Youth announced their plans to develop two new IYS hubs throughout Newfoundland and Labrador in collaboration with the provincial government, NL Health Services, and philanthropic partners.

  • Anchor launched their new name, along with the opening of the first Anchor Youth Space in Amherst, Nova Scotia in April 2025. The Grand Opening of Anchor Cumberland was held on April 30th, 2025 with representatives from the Government of Nova Scotia, philanthropic partners, community partners, youth and caregivers, and other key partners.

    Over the next several years, the government will be spending $8.4 million to set up eight different sites with another $10 million being added from philanthropic partners.

  • 10 new hubs were announced by the Government of Ontario, bringing the total to 32 across the province. Five new hubs will be located in Northumberland, City & District of Thunder Bay, Oxford County, Maple and Brampton, with another five hubs to be funded through Budget 2024 with an investment of $8.3 million over three years— in Akwesasne, North Hastings, Cambridge, Durham-Ajax, and Dufferin Country.

    In June 2025, Youth Wellness Hub Ontario (YWHO) Northumberland also became the first Youth Wellness Hub in Ontario to launch virtual services before opening their physical hub location. Since soft-launching virtual services in March, YWHO Northumberland has seen steady growth in youth engagement. Currently, YWHO Northumberland offers virtual mental health and substance use counselling with a Clinician, as well as peer support sessions with a Peer Support Specialist.

  • Fonds de recherce du Quebec - Sante (FRQS) and Quebec’s health and social services ministry (MSSS) announced that Drs. Srividya N. Iyer and Martin Goyette of ENAP (École nationale d'administration publique) will co-lead a $4.7 million FRQS grant for the provincial evaluation of Aire ouverte, a Quebec-wide integrated youth services initiative.

    The project aims to co-construct, implement, and evaluate a Learning Health System for Aire ouverte. The research team includes all stakeholders across Quebec – including youth, families, researchers, clinicians, decision-makers, and community organizations – who will be involved throughout the process and ensure that results are relevant and shared effectively to inform practice and policy.

    This 5-year grant has been awarded as a result of the partnership between the FRQS, the MSSS, and the Graham Boeckh Foundation.

  • As of December 2024, the third of HOMEBASE’s four hubs opened in Regina — joining Moose Jaw and Humboldt. They were joined by HOMEBASE Regina’s Lead Agency, YWCA Regina, members from their Youth Collective and other officials for a grand opening and ribbon cutting.

    HOMEBASE are currently working on opening the fourth hub this year, in Sturgeon Lake First Nation, to be operated by the Sturgeon Lake First Nation Health Center. The HOMEBASE provincial team within the John Howard Society of Saskatchewan (JHSS) is leading the implementation of four hubs across the province with $3.4 million in funding from the Government of Saskatchewan for development and operations. 

Kai Communications