Manitoba youth with addictions face limited services, long waitlists, geographic barriers: report

Posted on November 28, 2024 by Peggy

A new report from the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth paints a picture of the state of addictions services for young people in the province and what needs to change.

It draws on feedback from dozens of young people and more than 120 service providers that work with youth.

“This report has a soul. We’ve released many reports in our office that has to do with children dying, and this report, we spoke to youth that are still here today,” said Sherry Gott, the Manitoba advocate. She spoke at a news conference in Winnipeg where the report, Innagakeyaa Bimadizewin: Towards the good life, was released.

Gott said it doesn’t offer new recommendations but rather amplifies the concerns and suggestions of those most affected by the youth addictions system — youth who use substances, and service providers, whose voices highlight some of the main inadequacies of the system.

The report is intended to be a resource that policymakers can use as a guide toward improving the system.

Some of the concerns youth identified include limited access to services, long waitlists, geographic barriers, and a lack of integrated mental health support and harm reduction services.

Those working in the field say some of problems include underfunding, staff shortages and a lack of collaboration between agencies.

Gott said her office has seen a significant increase in the number of people trying to access addictions services, and has previously called on the province to develop a youth-focused addictions strategy.

Systemic and structural changes are needed to address the growing number of youth seeking substance-abuse help, she said.

“We have learned that fractured and siloed approaches and services are ineffective, and that young people want and need strategies and services that are integrated, holistic and comprehensive,” she is quoted as saying in the report.

“We must listen to the youth and ensure that their needs, rights and interests are at the centre of all that we do.”

The province’s current youth addictions system is largely ill-equipped to meet the complex needs of many young people and is loaded with persistent and long-standing gaps and barriers, the report said.

Gott’s office has found that youth struggling with drug and alcohol dependency are disproportionately Indigenous and often have mental health issues and troubled childhoods.

Nearly half of the participants spoke about having experienced a form of trauma, such as sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, grief or poverty.

Youth cited a lack of information and outreach on available services. Some talked about only learning about supports when they were incarcerated.

“The fact that some youth need to get to the point of being criminally charged to receive information about services is highly problematic,” the report said.

Gott’s office released a report on youth living with addictions earlier this year. It said advocacy requests for youth living with addictions jumped to 22 per cent from three per cent in the past five years.

Her office also found a concerning number of young people have died from a suspected overdose.

A team reviewed child and youth deaths from 2018 to 2023 and found 56 youth deaths related to possible drug overdoses or substance use.