A $16.2-million provincial-federal grant will create 76 new youth peer-support positions at Foundry centres in B.C., Social Development and Poverty Reduction Minister Sheila Malcolmson said Monday.
Foundry centres offer health and wellness services for people age 12 to 24 years and their caregivers, including mental-health and substance-use support, physical and sexual health care, youth and family peer support services, as well as social services including employment assistance, education and housing assistance.
There are already about 20 peer-support workers in B.C.’s network of 14 Foundry centres — nine of which are still under development — including ones in Victoria, the Comox Valley, Campbell River and Port Hardy when it opens.
Youth peer support is based on the idea that those who have experienced adversity can draw from their own experiences to provide mentorship.
The three-year grant, through the 2022-23 Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Development Agreement, represents “an enormous unprecedented expansion of support for youth peer workers,” Malcolmson said at a news conference Monday at a Foundry centre in North Vancouver.
Peer-support workers are an “on the ground” way to connect young people to care before things get to a crisis, she said.
The funding will also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of youth peer support in primary health-care settings for young people.
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside said when young people make the decision to reach out for help, they need services to meet them where they are.
Two years ago, the province invested in developing the peer-support-worker training curriculum across several ministries, she said.
Whiteside told reporters at a media availability that a centralized wait-list and registry to help government, health-care administrators, care providers and patients better understand where services are available is “not too far off.”
To learn more about peer support training in B.C., go to peerconnectbc.ca.
Foundry services are available walk-in or online at foundrybc.ca.
