Keystone marks 50th anniversary amid ‘re-imaging’ of organization

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While celebrating the past 50 years Monday, Keystone Child, Youth & Family Services is also doing things to respond to emerging needs with new mental health and addiction programs and services.

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The Owen Sound-based organization held a gathering at Grey Roots to mark the anniversary, look ahead and recognize staff and volunteers. The 1988 Olympic Silver medalist skater, Elizabeth Manley, was to speak about mental health awareness.

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Keystone started as an Owen Sound hospital outpatient program 50 years ago. It has moved locations, changed and grown over the years. Today its offices are at 1793 3rd Ave. W., it has 100 full-time equivalent positions and sees about 4,000 kids annually.

David Willis, the president and CEO, said Keystone is adapting to respond to new needs, including those resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. It caused a spike in eating disorders and generally increased the acuity and complexity of issues.

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Keystone is the lead agency for child and youth mental health services in Grey-Bruce, a legislated role given to it 10 years ago, and contributes to system planning in this region. Willis is co-chair of the province’s 31 lead agencies.

About six weeks ago Keystone opened a 13-bed live-in treatment centre in the former detox centre on 9th Avenue East, which was run by Brightshores Health System. The hospital corporation signed over the building to Keystone and the province fully renovated it.

“When we looked at the data, we recognized that there was a huge need within Grey and Bruce counties for live-in treatment,” Willis said. “That’s a great example of system planning and implementation.” It’s for kids 12-17 years old with severe mental health troubles.

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That building includes two complete school rooms to let kids maintain their education, a living room and dining room. It’s for Grey-Bruce kids first, but it would accommodate kids from Huron and Perth counties when not full, Willis said.

“It’s something that this sector has been desperate for in this region, partly because we would send kids out of region . . . as far away as Cornwall or Windsor or Ottawa to receive services.” Having help available locally benefits the kids and the families supporting them, Willis said.

Keystone’s live-in treatment program used to run out of a house on 4th Avenue East, where it had six beds. That house has a new role as a walk-in crisis service for kids and families. Ongoing crisis-treatment services will also be offered there.

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Willis said Keystone is about to launch the walk-in crisis service for Grey-Bruce, using that space in Owen Sound and ultimately, as agreements are reached, in area hospitals. Keystone has recently come to an agreement for space at Hanover & District Hospital to receive kids coming into the emergency department in crisis and also for ongoing counselling.

“The goal of course is to remove kids from the emerg who don’t need to be there but provide the link to services that they would desperately need,” Willis said.

Willis said it’s hoped Keystone will have dedicated space in Wiarton, Southampton and Kincardine hospitals too.

The evening hours will also be extended to Keystone services more broadly, to make them more accessible to working families, for example, starting in January.

Anyone younger than 18 may access Keystone services.

Another project underway, part of what Willis calls the “re-imagining” of Keystone, is to create a single number referral service to access child and mental health services in Grey-Bruce.

“And then we as the receiving agency will be able to bring them into our own agency if that is appropriate or to place them within other services if that’s more appropriate as well,” he said.

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