The Tri-Cities has been passed over once for a program to help vulnerable youth.
That might now change thanks to advocacy from Coquitlam school district (SD43) and Share Family and Community Services that are calling for a Foundry program to support local youth.
Foundry programs are in several B.C. communities, but so far the Tri-Cities hasn’t been able to secure funding for a health and social service hub for youth.
Share CEO Claire MacLean said the Tri-Cities’ population is growing and youth in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody need help with sexual health, mental health and substance use supports as well as counselling and jobs.
Foundry, if funded in the Tri-Cities, would establish a one-stop shop where youth aged 12 to 25 would get services from physicians, nurses, counsellors and other professionals with Share playing a lead role.
Share is already building a centre in Port Moody for children with special needs, expected to open in early 2022, where they can get physiotherapy, speech therapy and other supports.
A Foundry hub would provide wrap-around programs for older kids, MacLean said, and it is needed now as the Tri-City region grapples with growing vulnerability amongst youth.
“We are very much affected by the housing crisis, the opioid crisis and financial pressures that will put youth at risk. They need to have a really accessible, safe, trusted place for them to go.”
SD43 is also supporting the program, noting in tonight's board of education meeting report there is only so much its counsellors can do: youth struggling with moderate to severe mental health issues need a pathway from school to community supports.
“The biggest challenge for school personnel is that, while qualified, school counselling is not structured to provide long-term ongoing therapeutic intervention, services, or medical approaches to ongoing moderate to severe or acute mental health problems and/or disorders,” a report to the board of education states.
An estimated 3,000 students in the Tri-Cities require community supports, yet there is a three-to-four month waiting list, and often, young people and their families don’t know who to turn to or where to go.
In contrast, referrals aren’t required for Foundry services, and the help is provided for free.
MacLean is hoping to keep the momentum going on a second bid for the program now that the province has finalized a budget with millions promised in mental health services.
“We are waiting for the next call for submissions,” she said, acknowledging that a submission in 2019 failed to get funding last year.
Recently, the B.C. government provided $5.1 million to Foundry to administer FoundryWorks over the next three years to help struggling youth find jobs and an app, co-created by youth, is available to the 11 Foundry centres that provide in-person services.
It’s hoped that the Tri-Cities will get access to these services if a Foundry program is approved in the next round of funding.
Meanwhile, SD43 is looking for additional ways to support students.
In addition to a Foundry, school officials are calling for integrated child and youth teams and a coordinator or liaison to better connect students with ongoing external support and to “help families navigate on what can be for many a difficult journey.”
