The Hunter Family Foundation is transforming e-mental health services in Alberta and across Canada

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The Calgary-based Hunter Family Foundation is building on their long-time support of Kids Help Phone to transform access and coordination of youth mental health services in Alberta and ignite groundbreaking innovation from coast to coast to coast. 

With this investment, the Hunter Family Foundation has cumulatively supported the Feel Out Loud movement with $1 million to transform the youth mental health landscape across Canada. 

Committed to supporting innovative and entrepreneurial projects that drive solutions to critical challenges, the Hunter Family Foundation’s gift will launch Kids Help Phone’s Alberta Youth Mental Health Services Mapping Project — a three-year project that will identify and address glaring gaps in access to youth mental health services in the province.  

Through the collection and analysis of key data, this project will pinpoint “service deserts” across the province — geographical areas where youth mental health services are underutilized or non-existent. Using this information, Kids Help Phone will micro-target specific communities or groups of youth to increase their access to e-mental health services. We will also use this information to inform and work together with policymakers and service partners to thoughtfully plan and deliver these services. 

The Foundation is also investing in Kids Help Phone’s world-leading innovation strategy to support continuous advancements in e-mental health solutions, ensuring help is always available to every young person across Canada — where, when and how it’s needed most. The Foundation’s gift will also focus on advancing our artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure to enhance service delivery, reduce wait times and create new e-mental health solutions.    

The Hunter Family Foundation’s gift addresses a crucial need to provide all young people in Canada with access to mental health support. Currently, suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people and half of all youth are experiencing a form of depression and anxiety.  

In Alberta, 82% of young people who reach out to Kids Help Phone say they feel less upset after their conversation, 75% have shared something they’ve never shared with anyone else and 7% say they would have gone to their local emergency department if they hadn’t reached out to Kids Help Phone. These are examples of the remarkable, life-changing impacts the Hunter Family Foundation’s investment will strengthen for young people in Alberta and across Canada.   

We are deeply grateful to the Hunter Family Foundation for their immense generosity to unlock hope for young people through the power of innovation, partnership and philanthropy.