School division’s mental-health liaison helps students in crisis access help faster

A youth experiencing a mental-health crisis at a River East Transcona school was connected with specialized care within hours this fall, offering an early example of how a new partnership is helping students in distress.

After the teen made statements that raised safety concerns, school administrators contacted a newly appointed mental-health crisis liaison, who arrived within 30 minutes, assessed the situation and met with the student, their family and school staff.

By the end of the morning, the student was admitted to a crisis stabilization unit for several days, and arrangements were made for followup therapy.

The intervention was possible because of a pilot partnership between RETSD and The Link: Youth and Family Supports, which began at the start of the school year.

The initiative places a dedicated liaison within the division to help students experiencing mental-health emergencies access timely intervention, treatment and ongoing support.

Jón Olafson, the division’s assistant superintendent of student services, said the partnership comes as schools face increasingly frequent and complex mental-health concerns among youth.

The liaison, an employee of The Link’s existing mobile crisis team, provides a familiar point of contact for students.

Victoria Fisher, The Link CEO, said the liaison emphasizes relationships over formal clinical office visits, helping students de-escalate crises, develop coping strategies and navigate future challenges. The liaison can also follow up with students after a crisis, helping them manage their mental health.

Although RETSD schools could previously contact community crisis services, having someone dedicated to the division makes it easier to connect students with help, Olafson said.

The partnership comes as Manitoba teachers report declining access to mental-health professionals in schools.

Lillian Klausen, president of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, said years of budget pressures have forced school divisions to reduce the number of social workers, guidance counsellors, psychologists and resource teachers available to students.

“It’s to the point where students are waiting a long time to see professionals,” Klausen said.

Where one social worker might previously have served 200 to 300 students, some now serve 500 to 700, she said, adding some full-time guidance counsellors have been assigned part-time classroom teaching duties. As a result, classroom teachers are expected to respond to students’ mental-health needs without specialized training.

She said delays in accessing mental-health services can allow minor problems to fester into more serious concerns.

While she welcomed partnerships such as the one with The Link, Klausen said community organizations shouldn’t be expected to compensate for inadequate school staffing.

“I don’t think it’s the responsibility of our partners to come to the aid of our students,” she said.

The new service for RETSD schools primarily targets students in grades 9-12.

Governance of The Link, formerly Macdonald Youth Services, was transferred to Brokenhead Ojibway Nation in 2025.

Fisher, a member of Ebb and Flow First Nation, said under the new leadership, The Link redesigned its mobile crisis services to increase community-based support and expects the school liaison program to evolve in response to students’ needs.

The pilot is funded by the Manitoba government.

“Our goal and hope is that it’s successful,” Olafson said. “You don’t want to do it just for one year. You want to see how it evolves over time.”

The division already works with Shared Health to provide three substance-use counsellors, and has a separate partnership with Knowles Centre to offer therapy services in high schools.

“We know that school … are some of the best places to be doing support around mental health and mental-health supports and prevention, but also intervention,” said Olafson. “But we also know that we still need partnerships to do this work, as well.”

The division, Manitoba’s second-largest, serves approximately 19,000 students across 43 schools.

kelly.riess@winnipegfreepress.com