Hawthornes donate $100,000 to new Well Youth Hub in Kincardine

Duncan and Lesley Hawthorne were pleased to be part of the grand opening of the Well Youth Hub in downtown Kincardine, Friday morning, and presented a donation of $100,000 to the cause.

“My brother committed suicide many years before people started talking about mental health issues,” said Duncan, “and it left a mark on the family.

“We feel it’s important to support good initiatives locally, and this is an easy community to support. Everybody feels part of it and everyone helps. It’s easy to help when the ball is already starting to roll. Huron Shores Hospice was like that. You don’t know you need it until you need it.

“This is a great initiative and we’re pleased to be a small part of it.”

The Hawthornes now live in the United Kingdom and support many programs there, including a crisis centre for homeless people in Edinburgh. Duncan is the former president and chief executive officer of Bruce Power, and the couple lived in the Kincardine area for years until he retired.



Lesley (left) and Duncan Hawthorne present a cheque for $100,000 to Shannon McGavin, executive director of the Well Community Collective, Friday morning, at the grand opening of the youth hub in Kincardine

A crowd gathered for the opening of the youth hub which operates out of the Canadian Mental Health Association (The Dory) building at the corner of Durham and Queen Streets in Kincardine. Currently, young people, aged 12-25, are encouraged to drop in on Fridays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. during the summer. The youth hub offers a safe and inclusive space, free snacks and activities, and free clinical services. No registration is required, just a warm welcome every week.

The Well Community Collective (The Well) is a community-driven initiative committed to improving youth mental health and well-being. The collective’s flagship initiative is the creation of youth hubs — youth-centred spaces designed to provide safe, supportive, and stigma-free environments for youth to access care, connect with peers, and build brighter futures.

The hubs provide free, barrier-free access to a wide range of supports, including mental health, substance use, and primary-care services, as well as help with education, employment, housing, and wellness, all under one roof.

The Well is raising $6-million to fund integrated youth wellness hubs in Kincardine, Exeter, Goderich, Owen Sound, and Stratford, with plans to expand to other centres in the region. Previous donations from Bruce Power, Kinectrics and CANDU Energy helped kick-start fund-raising efforts across the region.

Using a model developed by the Centre of Mental Health and Addiction, and proving successful in other regions in southern Ontario, The Well brings together a wide range of social and community services to offer youth and young adults necessary resources for mental health, addiction and personal well-being in a brick-and-mortar facility, which will also act as a youth centre for hanging out with friends, which helps to remove possible stigmas.

Shannon McGavin, executive director of the Well Community Collective, expressed her gratitude on behalf of the organization and local youth.

“We’re so grateful to Duncan and Lesley (Hawthorne) for their support and incredible generosity,” said McGavin. “We want our youth to be successful and optimistic for the future, and this donation will go a long way to help provide the support needed to make that happen. It’s important to provide the right help at the right time.”

QUICK FACTS:
 

• One-in-four Canadian youth, aged 15–26, experience mental health and substance use disorders
• Youth, aged 18-29, in Huron and Perth counties experienced a 100-per-cent increase in males and 79-per-cent increase in females who reported poor mental health
• Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth, aged 12-24, in Ontario, with suicide rates in our communities tracking much higher than the provincial average
• Regular heavy drinking is a health concern in our communities, with self-reported use in Grey, Bruce, Huron and Perth counties tracking higher than Ontario averages

Gathered for the cheque presentation, are John Peevers (left) of Bruce Power and the Well Collective, Lesley and Duncan Hawthorne, Shannon McGavin, executive director of the Well Collective, and Kincardine mayor Kenneth Craig



Duncan and Lesley Hawthorne (centre) cut the ribbon to officially open The Well Youth Hub in downtown Kincardine, Friday morning; with them, are Kincardine mayor Kenneth Craig, Shannon McGavin, executive director of the Well Collective, youth ambassador Deirdre Schumacher, and engagement and evaluation lead Reba Oldridge