Your support helps families know they're not alone
For youth experiencing significant mental health challenges, attending school can be difficult. Some youth have been unable to go to school for years.
School-based programs like CASA House help treat mental health conditions so youth can do better in school, go to school more often and get along better with others. CASA House – and all of CASA Mental Health’s programs – are always free of charge to families.
This back-to-school season, you can make a difference for kids headed back to class.
Make a gift today to help more kids and youth with mental health challenges have the resources, strategies and support to succeed as they return to school this fall.
Looking for another way to give? CASA Mental Health offers easy, safe and secure alternatives to giving online. You can donate by e-transfer or over the phone. As well as online giving, we also gratefully accept donations like securities. Call 780-984-4493 to learn more.
Desi's and Shola's stories
Desi’s Story: Rediscovering Confidence in the Classroom
This story blends the true experiences of many families at CASA Mental Health, while protecting patient privacy and illustrating shared realities.
Desi didn’t function well in her high school classroom. She was physically restless and had impulsive outbursts. She had no one she could call a friend, rarely turned homework in on time and skipped classes.
Fights between Desi and her parents happened daily. Her parents were tired, burned out and felt defeated.
At a parent-teacher conference, Desi’s teacher suggested that she could be showing signs of a mental health challenge. He suggested they speak with their family doctor and ask for a referral to a psychiatrist.
That’s when they first heard about CASA House.
The first week of the CASA House program was challenging for Desi. She began individual therapy, group therapy and medication management with the psychiatrist. She and her parents also started family therapy.
Desi’s schedule included one block of school per day to start, and the teachers helped her catch up. She was given an assessment and diagnosed with ADHD. It took time to find the right medication, but when they did, it felt transformative.
By her fourth week in the program, Desi was attending all of her school blocks. Since completing the CASA House program, she passed Grade 11 with honours and is starting Grade 12 in her home school this September.
For the first time, she’s excited about school and her future.
Shola’s Story: My Heart is in CASA House
There is nowhere else like CASA House, a program with true wrap-around supports. CASA House is a live-in facility for youth with significant mental health challenges, who haven’t responded as well as hoped to previous treatment.
Youth spend an average of four months at CASA House. The program offers schooling, a living space and a recreation centre. It’s a place to build life skills and receive mental health treatment from a skilled, trauma-informed interprofessional team. And it’s all free of charge to families.
All this comes together to form a holistic program that provides youth with the skills and tools they need to successfully manage their mental health, for life.
“We’re a wrap-around service and we provide everything the patient needs,” says CASA House Program Manager, Shola Whetter. “If they are needing some assessments, we have psychologists who provide the assessments too, which is extremely costly outside. Other youth programs don’t have that.”
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