Kids the focus of Mental Health Awareness Week

According to the Kelowna branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association more and more of the province's youth are experiencing mental health issues.

Executive Director Shelagh Turner says its not often realized there is a problem.

"I think its often confuses with teen angst and we haven't really had a good handle on identifying mental illness versus that teen angst. But approximatley 15% of children , or 143 000 children in BC will experience mental health issues every single year."

Turner says they have teamed up with the Ministry of Children and Family Development and created a Child and Youth Mental Health Guide that can be found in Wednesday's Capital News, or you can go online to www.kelowna.cmha.bc.ca.

The launching of the guide is part of National Mental Health Awareness Week that goes until May 11.

Jessica Samuels - Astral Media Radio News (Kelowna)