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THURSDAY MAY 16, 2019 Insurance Darryl Demille CFP, Agent 1226 White Oaks Blvd., Oakville 905-842-1020 Life's better with an agent WINNER OF BEST WINDOW COVERING & BLIND CENTRE SINCE 2006 High quality wood&vinyl shutters 905.691.4455 www.shuttersetc.ca SHUTTERS ETC. dentistoakville.com 905-842-6030 Take the first step and get a Family Registry Estate Planner™ 905-257-1100 Rememberwhennewcars cost $1,300? 3164 Ninth Line, Oakville, ON • glenoaks.ca GlenOaksFuneral Home&Cemetery byArborMemorial Choose your budget andmonthly terms to plan final arrangements, and take advantage of today's prices. Arbor Memorial Inc. DIG DEEPER INTO MORE NEWS @ INSIDEHALTON.COM OPINION DOOR SHUT PROVINCE'S HOUSING POLICY MIGHT HURT VULNERABLE RESIDENTS Halton police and the Reach Out Centre for Kids (ROCK) are taking groundbreaking steps to help youths struggling with mental health issues in this com- munity. On Tuesday, May 7 represen- tatives from both organizations gathered at Halton police head- quarters and signed a memoran- dum of understanding, which will allow Halton police to direct- ly refer youth under 17 and their families to the local mental health agency. "Members of the Halton Re- gional Police Service experience many mental health related in- teractions with youth," said Hal- ton Police Deputy Chief Roger Wilkie. "Police are often called to or become aware of youth who are experiencing a mental health crisis or are in need of mental health services." Wilkie said currently officers can refer people to their Halton Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST) to ensure they get the help they need. The prob- lem is COAST services are not generally available to youth un- der the age of 16. That is where ROCK comes in. The community-based, multi- service organization is described by Wilkie as the lead agency for child and youth mental health in the Halton Region. Under the new memorandum of understanding once Halton police interact with a child or youth struggling with mental health issues, they will seek the family's consent to refer them to ROCK. If this consent is given ROCK will contact the family within 24 hours. Police say they are unaware of any other Canadian police ser- vice that is teaming up in this manner with a mental health agency to help youth. "I can tell you this fills a crit- ical gap in getting children, youth and their families the right help and support at the See POLICE, page 4 HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com ROCK Primary Executive Ron Rodgers and Halton Police Deputy Chief Roger Wilkie sign a memorandum of understanding that will see Halton police refer youths 17 and under to ROCK for support. David Lea/Torstar