Five new youth support spaces to open in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia’s Office of Addictions and Mental Health has announced that five new youth support centres will open across the province before the end of 2026, bringing the total to eight.

Kimberly Stewart, the office’s associate deputy minister, confirmed these plans at a standing committee on health meeting at the Nova Scotia Legislature on Tuesday. 

In 2025, the centres, known as Anchor Youth Spaces, opened in Halifax, Sydney and Amherst. This year, another Halifax location as well as spots in Bridgewater, Yarmouth, Eskasoni and New Glasgow are slated to open. 

The spaces are designed to support youth aged 12 to 25 with a variety of services. The province is spending $8.4 million on these spaces over the next few years. The Izaak Walton Killam Health Centre is planning to raise $10 million for these spaces as well. 

Since the Anchor Youth Space on Gottingen Street in Halifax opened in September, staff say it has had a steady flow of participants. On an average day, they see around 25 young people walk through the doors.

Preston Simmons, a youth support worker at the Halifax location, has already seen changes in many of the participants since the space opened. 

“You see a lot of development,” he said. “It’s not a linear path, obviously they go through ups and downs, but those changes are what I find most fulfilling.” 

The space is predominantly led by youth; everything from the furniture to the programming was selected by participants. The space offers life skills programming, career development workshops, and peer support groups.

It’s also a place where young people can come to relax: a safe space between school, work and home.  

After some youths participated in a program where they discussed emotional regulation, Simmons heard them referencing what they learned in the workshop during a disagreement with friends. He said that it’s during those moments he sees the impact of the work he’s doing. 

Sarah Jacquard is a mental health clinician at the Halifax Anchor Youth Space. She offers individual counselling, drop-in counselling, and therapy groups. Like Simmons, Jacquard noted positive changes in the participants. Jacquard created an art therapy group after noticing a group of girls spending a lot of time drawing.

“There’s a few youth who regularly access services but don’t talk a whole lot,” she said. “So it’s been really interesting to see how differently they can express themselves when we take words out of the equation.”

Todd Leader, a psychology professor at Saint Mary’s University, says comprehensive support is key in youth centres. In his book It’s Not About Us, Leader delves into the current mental health and addictions systems in Canada, and how they could change. He said all youth services should be led by youth. 

He said the Anchor Youth Space has major potential because it offers a variety of services under one roof. 

Simmons and Jacquard say they are happy to hear about new Anchor Youth Spaces in progress. They have plans to continue developing programs and add a physician or a nurse practitioner to the space this year.