WINNIPEG — A new study says mental illness is a widespread problem among Manitoba children, and is much more pronounced in the province's north and Winnipeg's downtown.
Researchers at the University of Manitoba say about one in seven kids between the ages of six and 19 were diagnosed with a mental disorder by a physician between 2009 and 2013.
The report says the rate of suicide among teens was almost twice the Canadian average, and rates in the north and Winnipeg's core were exponentially higher.
The rates for substance use disorders and psychotic disorders followed the same pattern.
One of the report's authors says kids from low-income families are at greater risk of mental illness because they face challenges with nutrition, housing and high levels of stress.
Sel Burrows, an inner-city activist in Winnipeg, says more support programs and more recreation services would help address the problem.
