$209,600 Trillium grant for “Get Out There” mental health project

Out There Creative Therapy of Springfield, in cooperation with Canadian Mental Health Association, has received a $209,600 Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to establish “Get Out There” to foster mental health in local young persons, primarily through creative arts.

Kellen DeVos, founder of the organization, said a former restaurant in Springfield would be converted to a “creative resource space” where youths 12 to 30 years old could experiment creatively while also having mental health information and resources available to them.

Get Out There would hold a monthly “coffee house” showcase as part of its program, he said, and connect young persons just out of mental health treatment with mentors who had successfully been through the process of readjusting to daily lives themselves.

Operations would begin in June, with a grand opening of the creative space in September.