Alberta Health Services Community Helpers Program

Author: Kristin Pilon

Alberta Health Services Community Helpers Program (CHP) is a peer helping program offered to youth and young adults ages 12 to 30 and adults who support youth. Coordinated by Provincial Injury Prevention, CHP operates in community-based settings. Since the program’s inception in 2008, CHP has grown to 27 organizations, servicing over 80 communities across Alberta. Within Edmonton, CHP is offered to students and staff of the Edmonton Public School Division. 

The Community Helpers Program aims to enhance the mental health and well-being of youth and young adults, improve access to interventions for those who may be at risk of suicide, increase help-seeking behaviour in youth and young adults, and reduce stigma associated with mental health concerns and help-seeking behaviour.  

Through CHP, participants (known as helpers) learn and develop skills to connect and strengthen communities. Topics include effective communication, self-care, coping with stress, knowing when to refer people to professional services, handling crises, and suicide awareness. The program also connects helpers to community and professional support services, which bridges the community's connection between informal and formal supports.

Students who have participated in CHP through Edmonton Public School Division report feeling more confident and competent when helping a friend, knowing how to ask about suicide and applying boundaries when needed, and feeling comfortable referring others to resources within the school and the greater community of Edmonton.