The Child Trauma Research Centre (CTRC) at the University of Regina has partnered with the Medavie Foundation to create PSP Youth and Kids (PSP YK), a web-based hub of resources, materials, and activities tailored to the unique experiences of public safety personnel (PSP) youth and children. PSP YK will also develop and offer training materials and other resources for those working in child-serving organizations.
And the need is urgent. Ranked 30th of 38 rich countries for the well-being of those under 18 according to the UN's 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, Canada is falling far behind in children and youth mental health.
"What began as a growing awareness of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in public safety personnel, has expanded organically to include the mental health and well-being of PSP families and now PSP children," says Dr. Nathalie Reid, Director of the Child Trauma Research Centre. "Children of public safety personnel have a complex set of life experiences influenced by their being PSP-connected, that we must pay attention to. On top of the typical life experiences, PSP kids have a layered existence of responsibility, struggle, and competing identities because of their caregivers' exposure to potentially traumatic events."
Thanks to a $600,000 grant from the Medavie Health Foundation, over the next three years, Reid and a team of researchers will study the experiences of Canadian PSP kids and youth, develop evidence-based methods and Canadian-specific resources for supporting their mental health, and create training resources and sessions for their guardians and those who work closely with children.
"Supporting public safety personnel is close to our hearts at the Medavie Foundation," says Andrea Elliott, Executive Director of the Medavie Health Foundation. "When a parent is living with post-traumatic stress, it can impact the family unit. As a result, children can often carry invisible burdens of their own, and need support tailored to their unique needs. That's why we're proud to support the Child Trauma Research Centre at the University of Regina to help bring evidence-based support to families who give so much, and make sure they have what they need to live life fully."
The University of Regina's Child Trauma and Research Centre works to actively shape the world in which we wish to live by conducting innovative, strength-based, and trauma-integrated research to develop policies and best practices that enhance mental and physical well-being for children and youth.
"The University of Regina is a vibrant and vital incubator of research, education, and training in mental health and wellness throughout the human lifespan," says Dr. Jeff Keshen, President of the University of Regina. "Together, through the research and knowledge sharing being advanced at the Child Trauma Research Centre with the support of the Medavie Health Foundation, we will develop a model of care that is urgently needed and can be adapted worldwide."
As a result of this funding, children will have the language and resources they desperately need to identify and communicate what they're experiencing. Those who work with kids and youth - their parents, teachers, counsellors, and other caregivers - will be able to share their experiences and learnings to shape the knowledge and training needed to support PSP youth and kids.
This $600,000 funding agreement with Medavie is part of the Foundation's $1,062,500 commitment to the U of R in 2025. The remaining $462,500 is supporting the expansion of PSPNET to the Atlantic Region.
For more information on the Child Trauma Research Centre, visit https://www.childtraumaresearch.ca/.
