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About CHPS

Community Health Promotion Services (CHPS) aims to prevent and reduce harms related to alcohol and drug misuse and mental health disorders by maximizing the well-being of children, adolescents and families in the Calgary Zone. We are a team within Child & Adolescent Addiction, Mental Health & Psychiatry Programs (CAAMHPP), Alberta Health Services (AHS).

Why we do what we do

Evidence-informed Practice

We design health promotion actions by customizing what we know works to the needs of our community.

Determinants of Health

We recognize that health outcomes are shaped by the social, cultural, physical and economic environment, and are not solely dependent on an individual’s choices and behaviours.

Equity

We prioritize our work through an equity lens, because everyone should have the opportunity to reach their full health potential.

Supportive Environments

We recognize that health behaviours are not just individual choices, but also a reflection of the environments where people live, work and play. We work to improve the social and environmental conditions that shape our children and youth.

Community Participation

We acknowledge that successful health promotion activities must be carried out by and for the people affected.

We support community to implement local solutions that prevent and reduce problematic substance use and/or mental health concerns in youth. We strive to be informed by the latest research evidence and use an equity lens to promote environments that support good health and belonging. CHPS works to build capacity in adults who interact with youth who are interested in preventing and reducing problematic substance use/mental health concerns in youth.

Increase community connectedness
Shift attitudes and beliefs around substance use and mental health
Promote positive mental health
Connected communities build resilient youth
  • Youth build resilience by experiencing and overcoming life stressors. Youth who feel a sense of belonging to their community and/or school environment believe that resources are available to them to help them cope. Social supports and structures protect youth from the negative consequences of stress and help them build resilience.

  • Connected youth have better learning outcomes
  • Research connects a sense of belonging and engagement with student outcomes, academically and socially; that is, the more engaged and connected students feel to their school, to a positive peer group, and to community, the better the outcomes.

  • Connected communities experience less crime
  • Building a sense of connection and belonging amongst community members can contribute to a reduction in crime rates. Community safety supports good health and belonging during youth development.

  • Connected youth are less likely to become involved in gangs
  • Risk factors for gang involvement include: limited attachment to the community, lack of connection to cultural identity and lack of friends, personal support and sense of belonging. Youth who have strong family bonds, a positive peer group and grow up in a positive social environment are less likely to become involved in gangs.

  • Community connectedness improves overall physical and mental health
  • Strong social connections help people recover more quickly from life stressors. If stress is not properly managed, it can create negative side effects. Stress triggers inflammation, headaches, high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, weight gain, depression, problems remembering or concentrating and sleep problems. Additionally, a sense of belonging is linked to the likelihood of making positive behaviour changes related to health.
  • Positive attitudes and beliefs towards substance use and mental health create safer learning environments
  • School strategies aimed at substance use and mental health have the ability to reduce the burden to the teacher in the classroom.

  • Reduced stigma towards mental health disorders increases student uptake to mental health supports
  • Schools that prioritize the de-stigmatization of mental health disorders will see increase uptake on the supports that they offer or refer to in the community

  • Connection to Peers
  • Shifting attitudes and beliefs regarding substance use

  • Connection to healthy relationships
  • Communication skills and self-advocacy increase youth’s ability to access mental health services and ask for help.
  • Building healthy relationships
  • Youth with positive peer influences are less likely to be involved in the justice system

  • Connection to healthy eating, active living and mental health
  • As a team within AHS, the public health nurses strive to increase the health and wellness of the students and families in their assigned schools.
  • The Public Health Nurses are an excellent contact point for the school to become acquainted and in turn work with CHPS.
  • Connection to student development
  • Typically mental health issues emerge when people are young — half of all mental disorders emerge by the time people are 14 years old and three quarters by 25years old – the same period when most kids are involved in education
  • Increasing a person’s opportunity and choices in life, promoting mental health and wellbeing as a core role in education helps student flourish in their educational journey and develops protective factors to increase positive mental health.
  • Provide students with skills and confidence to self-seek help for early intervention.

  • Connection to Learning Potential
  • Mental health is more than the absence of mental illness. Mental health is a state of wellbeing where students and families can meet their learning potential, and cope with daily and peer stresses
  • Programming delivered that would facilitate a positive change in the learning environment to enable students to flourish

  • Connection to Inclusion
  • Individuals living with mental illness or who are not living a mentally healthy life are at higher risk of encountering law enforcement or fitting in with societal norms

  • Connection to community organization
  • Increasing positive mental health produces engaged citizens who feel connected to their community
  • Empowerment and participation help support and strengthen protective factors, lessen risk factors and build on social determinants of health that often if depleted contribute to increased crime or community disorganization