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3| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,M ay 3,2018 theifp.ca Adolescence and early adulthood are al- so the times in which many symptoms of mental illnesses arise. From 2013 to 2015, the rates of emergen- cy department visits for mental illness was the highest among girls aged 15 to 19 across the region. Of the 2,929 ER visits across the region for women suffering with mental illness, 730 of those were for anxiety, 621 for depression and 575 for substance disor- ders. Men had only a slightly lower rate, with 2,800 visits, the majority of which were re- lated to substance abuse. Emergency room visits for mental ill- ness crises in children and youth have grown by over 45 per cent across Canada from 2006 to 2014 and hospitalizations for girls that are self-harming has spiked by over 110 per cent in that time. "Self-harm is a coping strategy," said McGregor explaining that the role of men- tal health professionals is to get to the root causes of this behaviour. While she doesn't know why Halton Hills would have a higher rate of self-harm over other municipalities in the region, she says many factors can be at play. "Traditionally, north Halton has been particularly underserved," she said, in terms of access to mental health services. In the entire region, she says wait times for a psychiatrist can be as long as nine months. The Canadian Mental Health Associa- tion has started offering free drop-in coun- selling on Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m at the Hillsview Active Living Centre. For parents, McGregor says there are warning signs to look out for if they think their child is suffering with mental health issues. A change in mood, behaviours and friend circles can indicate challenges. Red flags of self-harming can be mood changes, curious cuts or injuries, or wearing long sleeved or turtleneck clothing as well as engaging in risky behaviour. "We typically think of self-harm as peo- ple cutting themselves," she said, explain- ing that denying one's self food also classi- fies as harm. For more information about mental health services in the region contact CMHA Halton Hills at 519-853-9793 or visit Halton.ca. NEWS l Continued from page 1 Self-harm rates among teens high in Halton Hills Rest easy, the keys to Cruise Night have been passed on to new drivers. As Independent and Free Press columnist Ted Brown lamented in his weekly missive in early April that Georgetown's popular Cruise Night gath- ering each Thursday night between late May and Sep- tember was in jeopardy of shutting down unless a new organizing group could be found, some Georgetown car buffs have stepped for- ward to keep the event go- ing at Nashville North in Norval. Just having purchased a Mustang GT this past win- ter in part to attend Cruise Night, the author of the Ted Bit column was concerned when organizers Mike and Lynne Boyd, along with Bill and Sharon Gower and a number of others, said they couldn't continue on again this year. To the rescue comes a group led by Mike and Alli- son Farrugia, who have as- sembled a team of volun- teers to carry on the two-de- cade tradition, which has generated just shy of $50,000 in donations to the George- town Hospital Foundation since the late Scott Moore in 2000 at Halton Tire (R&R Auto Service). The first Cruise Night of the season is slated for May 31, weather permitting. Green light for Cruise Night EAMONN MAHER emaher@theifp.ca 348 Guelph St Unit 2A Georgetown, L7G 4B5 (Located Beside Rona) 905-702-9299 Daily Specials: Monday 2 Falafel Wraps $8.99 Tuesday 1 Chicken shawarma Wrap, Fries + Can of Pop $7.99 Wednesday any 2 Wraps Gyro/ shawarma/ Falafel $9.99 Thursday 1 Wrap Gyro/ shawarma/ Falafel, small soup or salad + Can of Pop $7.99 Friday 2 Large Chicken shawarma dinners $16.99 saTurday Medium Chicken dinner on the rocks or Fries with Gravy $5.99 daily specials end: June 30th, 2018 WALK-IN & FAMILY CLINIC • Male & Female Physicians • Walk-in and Appointment • Women's Health & Pregnancy Care • Sports Medicine • Extended Hours • Senior's Health • Lab On-Site • Pharmacy On-Site Miller Dr. M ou nt ai nv ie w Rd .S 8t h Li ne M ai n St 15 Sd. Rd. Eaton St. 10 Side Rd Opposite to Allison's Farm Market FULL SERVICE MEDICAL CLINIC 221 Miller Dr., Georgetown 905-873-6776 www.GenesisHealthTeam.com Spring is back, and so is our 13th Annual Super Spring SpecialNOW ON! - Oil & Filter and complete top to bottom check over (Includes up to 5 litres regular oil. Synthetic oil is extra.) - Installation of summer tires (already on rims) included. - $5.00 Tim's Card - Windshield Washer Fluid eXTraS $4995Call for anAppointment+HST 45 Mountainview Road North, Georgetown, Ontario 905.877.7958 e-mail: hassellsauto@bellnet.ca • www.hassellautomotive.comSALES & SERVICE 4995 Only