Cooler weather and a new school year are typical mental-health challenges this time of year. But increased COVID-19 restrictions are adding to the trouble some people are having.

Envision Counselling and Support Services has seen a recent increase in youth reaching out.

"We're noticing a really large increase in our youth population with our services, and that's for a number of reasons," said Rapid Access Counselling Nikki Lawrence. "This time of year, it's always busy and there's always a lot of adjustments on a good year. But this year, it certainly presents its own challenges, and those who are struggling with that are certainly not alone."

Lawrence said part of the increase in the demand from youth could be attributed to the availability of programs, such as rapid-access counselling.

"This area hasn't always had the best accessibility, but that's what we, as an organization, are hoping to kind of change. We've recently added other programs to our service list, and one of those programs is rapid access. Within that program we have a lot of accessibility online. A lot of people are turning to virtual options for service delivery, and we're offering phone and Zoom sessions with that as well."

Mandatory masking for public indoor places and vaccine requirements to access certain things, such as indoor dining, came into effect on October 1 across Saskatchewan. 

That's been an obstacle for some people's mental health, according to Lawrence.

"The overwhelming response that we're getting as an organization is that this is certainly an added stressor in people's lives, but we're seeing a lot of resiliency with our clients. Although it's not something that's easy to respond to, we're all doing the best that we can with what we're given."

Meanwhile, some people may find the increased safety measures relaxing when they're out in public.

"Everybody's comfort level is a little bit different. It's important to recognize that everybody has their own view on this; everybody has their own level of comfort. It's just about navigating through that and supporting people and validating their feelings, no matter where they fall on the spectrum."

Rapid-access counselling was named walk-in counselling until June. Lawrence said this was to create more availability for people looking for support. 

People can access it in-person in Weyburn, or via phone or Zoom Monday to Friday.

"The great thing, if the counsellor in this area, our counsellor from Envision, is unable to take you on just for capacity reasons, you can be matched with any counsellor across Saskatchewan to get that rapid response," said Lawrence."

Lawrence added that Envision continues to strive to increase accessibility to its programs through streamlining the process so people who might be hesitant to reach out have an easier time.

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