There are 12 hundred young people, from 16 to 29, in the Saint John area suffering from some form of mental illness and that number is growing.
That word from Kim Chenier, a programme co-ordinator at the just opened Peer 126 on Duke Street in the South End which provides help and support from counsellors who have been down the same road and can speak from first hand experience.
Chenier says young people who do suffer from mental health issues don't really trust the medical system and that's why the programme, which has been based on what has successfully been done in Halifax, is as non-clinical as you can get.