Victoria Youth Clinic re-brands as Foundry Victoria

Victoria Youth Clinic re-brands as Foundry Victoria
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Victoria Youth Clinic is now Foundry Victoria, with more funding and services available to youth living in the downtown area. (Victoria Youth Clinic/Facebook)

Victoria Youth Clinic has been rebranded as Foundry Victoria, with more funding and services available to youth living in the downtown area. (Victoria Youth Clinic/Facebook)

Victoria Youth Clinic first opened its doors in October but as of Tuesday, it’s the latest centre in the province to become a designated Foundry centre. Along with the title, comes more funding.

Last year the B.C. Government pledged $200,000 to support the new Foundry centres to each regional health authority. Individual donors and Island Health matched the governments’ donation and the Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island has pledged $3 million over eight years to ensure the Victoria Youth Clinic could get up and running as a Foundry centre.

Joining the donations, Island Health will also contribute $380,000 annually for general practitioner sessions and $110,00 a year for specialty psychiatry sessions at the centre.

Renamed Foundry Victoria, the location will still be operated by the Victoria Youth Clinic and brings together a variety of local organizations including Island Health and Ministry of Children and Family Development.

Those that work there are calling it a one-stop shop, where support and services for youth mental health and wellness will be under one roof.

It’s something Judy Darcy, the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, says local youth and their families desperately need.

“Our young people are dealing with incredible pressures impacting their mental health, including anxiety, depression and substance use. We need a youth mental-health system where you ask once and get help fast. Foundry is a successful example of that model,” Darcy said in a release.

Located at 818 Douglas Street, the centre provides people between 12 and 24 years old living with mental health and substance-use challenges with a safe and judgement-free zone where they can feel comfortable asking for help and access to services they need.

The integrated wellness services include physical and mental health care, substance use supports, social services, and youth and family peer supports, and a program that works to prevent suicide through community programs.

“Foundry is about transforming access to care for young people,” said Dr. Steve Mathias, executive director of Foundry. “By bringing a variety of wellness services together in one place, we want to remove the stigma of seeking help and reach young people early on – before small problems become big ones.”

Nipping these problems in the bud will be in the hands of a holistic team, and the approach is aimed at being individualized and flexible.

“Taking a team approach enables us to better determine and meet the individual needs of each client that comes through our doors. Foundry’s integrated model is simply the most responsible way to support the wellness needs of our young people,” said Barbara Thompson, executive director of Victoria Youth Clinic, the lead agency of Foundry Victoria.

Foundry Victoria is the sixth Foundry site open in B.C. joining Vancouver, Kelowna, Campbell River and Prince George, with another five centres currently in development.

 

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