Addiction help at your fingertips

Struggling with mental health and addictions issues? There’s an app for that.

The Sudbury-Manitoulin Service Collaborative has partnered with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) to introduce a new smartphone app for young people coping with mental health and addiction issues in the Sudbury, Manitoulin Island, and Chapleau areas.

The Be Safe app provides youth in the Sudbury, Manitoulin, and Chapleau areas with an instant resource they can access on their smartphones - anytime, anywhere - so that they can find the help they need, especially during a crisis.

“We think the Be Safe app is a great tool for youth who need quick access to mental health and addiction services, because the world of apps and social media is second nature to young people,” said Maureen McLelland, Co-Chair of the Sudbury-Manitoulin Service Collaborative.

“It’s where they go to get the information they need for just about everything, so why not mental health?”

The Be Safe app was first introduced last year in the southwestern Ontario city of London and surrounding areas.

It was developed by the London Service Collaborative, CAMH, and Mind Your Mind. The Service Collaboratives are local networks of cross-sectoral service providers which work together to improve the availability and coordination of community-based mental health and addiction services.

Mind Your Mind is a program that began in southwestern Ontario and was designed to give youth an active voice in the development of mental health services for young people.

“Be Safe has resonated with audiences I share my story with around Ontario. It's wonderful to be able to share it with them,” said Alicia Raimundo, one of the youth who worked on the Be Safe app in southwestern Ontario. “Be Safe helps youth like me connect to resources when we are in crisis. It helps us find the best and safest place for us at that time, and helps us prepare for that experience."

The latest version of the Be Safe app includes contact information for mental health and addiction services available in Sudbury, Manitoulin, and Chapleau.

The Be Safe app site also contains a personal safety plan and pocket guide that youth can print and fill out and have available in the event of a crisis.

To download the Be Safe app, visit mindyourmind.ca/interactives/be-safe