Parents turn grief into action, advocating for new integrated crisis centre in Kitchener

Mike and Fiona Roth lost their daughter, Kaitlyn, to suicide – just days before her 21^st birthday – after they say they were on a two-year waitlist for mental health support.

The Kitchener couple said Kaitlyn fell through the cracks due to gaps in the system.

“Gaps as far as long waitlists. Gaps as far as lack of training. Gaps as far as outpatient services are sometimes more of a checkbox system. They're not necessarily open to everybody,” Fiona Roth said. “While waiting for care, she lost her struggle.”

Kaitlyn’s parents remember her as a happy person, whose smile lit up a room.

Kaitlyn Roth from Kitchener, lost her life to suicide in 2022. (Submitted/Mike and Fiona Roth)

“She just was the life of parties. She loved to laugh,” Mike Roth said.

They said Kaitlyn wanted to get better, but struggled to hold on.

“She would say, ‘Dad, I just I'm not feeling well. I want to get back to school. I want to get back to my friends. But my brain is just not working.’ And that's why we call it what it is. It's a disease,” Mike said.

NEW ICC

The Roths spoke at a media event for the opening of the new Integrated Crisis Centre (ICC), in Kitchener, on Lawrence Avenue.

The ICC, said to be the first of its kind in Waterloo Region, is a space that is meant to act as an alternate to hospitals, for people with mental health or substance-use crises.

Mike and Fiona Roth, parents of a young Kitchener woman who died by suicide, at the opening event for the ICC on June 25, 2024. (Heather Senoran/CTV Kitchener)

Thresholds Homes and Supports and Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington (CMHAWW) helped make it happen, after years of collaborative work within the community.

“We want to provide mental health and addictions care in an environment which are based on trauma-informed care principles, which is quiet, just calm,” said Helen Fishburn, the CEO of CMHWW.

The facility officially opens to the public on July 30 and will accept walk-ins or referrals Tuesday to Saturday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“The project is currently attached to existing crisis beds, so if individuals here need a little bit longer support, they can also move into a crisis bed where they can stay for two to five days before they go back to the community,” said Eric Philip, CEO of Thresholds Homes and Supports.

For now, the ICC is funded by Thresholds and the CMHAWW, but the long-term goal is to get additional funding so they can operate 24/7. Thresholds said they’ve asked the provincial government for $2.8 million, to help make that happen.

The facility is staffed with mental health and addiction specialists and peer support workers, in a judgement-free, barrier-free and cost-free zone.

SUPPORT ACROSS THE BOARD

During the media event on Tuesday afternoon, Waterloo regional police, paramedics and local dignitaries were on hand.

Local police told CTV they’ve been assisting with the planning process for the last two years.

“As this model expands it will ultimately reduce unneeded emergency room visits and provide EMS and police with an additional resource to assist members of our community experiencing a mental health crisis,” said Insp. Aaron Mathias, with WRPS.

According to Thresholds, about 20 per cent of emergency room visits in Waterloo Region are mental health or substance-use related.

“Access to mental health and addictions services is a major need in the community. The addition of the Integrated Crisis Centre is an important step in addressing gaps for urgent mental health and addiction support,” said Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, medical officer of health with the Region of Waterloo, in a statement to CTV News.

The new Integrated Crisis Centre (ICC), in Kitchener, on Lawrence Avenue, on June 26, 2024. (Heather Senoran/CTV Kitchener)

Paramedics supports the ICC’s bid for more funding to expand the model.

“We need enhanced provincial funding for key services like this to meet the needs of our community and to allow it to be a site that can, in the future, assist with emergency department diversion for paramedic services,” said the Chief of Paramedics Services in the region, John Riches, in a statement.

The Roths believe a place like the ICC could save lives. They said it’s the type of warm, inviting place that people like Kaitlyn, would have thrived in.

“It shouldn't be treated in an institutional setting. This is the exactly the kind of place she would have felt hopeful in,” said Fiona.