Improving access to mental health supports for transitional aged youth – Presented by The Family Navigation Project

Sugy Kodeeswaran is the Executive Director of the Family Navigation Project (FNP), a navigation program based out of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario. Sugy is passionate about innovation in healthcare, and is committed to helping youth who experience mental health and/or addiction issues and their families navigate the complex and often confusing system. Sugy has more than 17 years of management experience in the health, research and innovation sectors and prior to joining FNP in 2018, held leadership roles for provincial programs at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and Ontario Genomics. Sugy completed a Bachelor of Science degree at McGill University, Master of Health Sciences (Health Administration) degree and Rotman School of Management Executive Program both at University of Toronto.

Anthony J. Levitt, MD, FRCP(C) graduated from Medical School in Western Australia and came to Canada to train in Psychiatry in 1985. He completed his research training in 1990 and held leadership positions at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and McMaster University, before moving to Sunnybrook and Women’s Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, where he served as Psychiatrist-in-chief and Director of Research, in the Department of Psychiatry at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. In 2014, he became the Program Chief of the Brain Sciences Program at Sunnybrook. In 2013 Dr. Levitt became the inaugural Medical Director of the Family Navigation Project (FNP). His area of research and clinical interest is in the area of treatment resistant mood disorders and more recently, as part of his role at FNP, he has explored the critical features of successful system navigation for youth and their families.

Roula Markoulakis, PhD, is a Scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute, with the Family Navigation Project. Her current work focuses on systems navigation for youth with mental health and/or addiction concerns and their families, peer support in navigation, youth engagement in navigation, and access to and transitions through mental health care. She is passionate about and committed to patient-oriented and community-based participatory research approaches. Her doctoral work at the University of Toronto and post-doctoral work at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health explored the mental health care and accessibility needs of post-secondary students with mental health concerns.