The impact of the Foundry Âé¶čAV wellness centre is being felt by local agencies that offer mental health care services for youth.
Since the Foundryâs initial soft launch in August through October, some 200 young people have walked through the doors of the centre on Kirschner Road seeking access to mental health services.
Mike Gawliuk, director of service delivery for the Canadian Mental Health Association Âé¶čAV branch and leading advocate behind the Foundry initiative, says there isnât necessarily a higher prevalence of issues teenagers but more are reaching out now.
âThe key word is access. When young people or their parents donât know where to turn, the Foundry offers a place to start. It may not end there, but itâs a place to go and tell your story and start to get your situation sorted out rather than be pin-balled between different organizations dealing with different mandates, workloads and funding issues,â said Gawliuk.
The Foundry was created with three-year seed money from the provincial government along with fundraising support from the Âé¶čAV General Hospital Foundation. It is a service hub that started in Vancouver and in Âé¶čAV brings together 25 agencies under one roof to provide diagnosis, support and intervention services coupled with a walk-in clinic.
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April Butler, president of the B.C. Schizophrenia Society branch in Âé¶čAV, said they have seen a dramatic upsurge in clients seeking support for mental health issues in recent months.
âWhere we might have 10 folks come to us in a month seeking help, now it is 30 to 40,â Butler said.
Gawliuk said the Foundry may contribute to that, but in a way beyond just agency referrals.
âI think the profile of the Foundry and the participation of the KGH Foundation alone has given more of a public face to mental health issues,â he said.
âWith greater public awareness about mental health comes the opportunity for it to move into the mainstream of health care and be treated in the same way other health care issues.â
The Foundry concept, he added, is about bringing different support agencies together to collaborate.
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âWhen multiple agencies work more closely together, it creates efficiencies and allows a response to peopleâs needs in a more timely manner.â
That increase in service demand, he says, will hopefully translate into more badly needed funding for mental health care services.
âIf the demand is there for more services and the stigma reduction is there, those are steps in the right direction to help influence change in the flow of funding,â Gawliuk said.
To that end, the NDP government also created a new ministry of mental health and addictions, which Gawliuk and others in the mental health care field hope will place greater attention and funding on treatment.
âItâs really cool to see what is happening there now,â Gawliuk said of the Foundry. âI was there for a meeting the other day and looking around, in one room was a substance abuse workshop, in another was a yoga class, in another room was a cognitive behaviour therapy group and in another was a parent support group. And a doctor was in at the walk-in clinic.
âThat is the result of partnerships and different organizations coming together.â
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barry.gerding@blackpress.ca
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