B.C. announces more support for youth mental health

The British Columbia government says 10 new Foundry centres are being developed in the province that will give young people and their families faster and easier access to mental health and substance use services.

Foundry is an integrated health and wellness service for people aged 12 to 24.

According to a statement from the province, new centres will offer primary care, counselling, early intervention, prevention and addictions supports.

The province says it has earmarked close to $75 million for Foundry expansion, with new centres coming to Burnaby, Chilliwack, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Quesnel, Sooke-Westshore, South Surrey, Vancouver, Vanderhoof and the West Kootenays.

Sixteen Foundry centres are open across the province with another nine in development.

Foundry executive director Steve Mathias says they expect to have 35 centres open by 2027 in addition to virtual services.

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside made the announcement Monday at the site of a Foundry centre in Surrey that she says is expected to be operational by the end of the year.

Whiteside says the additional services come at a time when young people are facing greater stress and anxiety. 

"They've come through a global pandemic that has had a dramatic effect on their social lives, their mode of learning, their access to community, their family dynamic ... And layered on top of that, we are in the midst of a climate emergency that creates its own set of anxieties for youth."

Whiteside said the recently released B.C. Adolescent Health Survey paints a worrying picture of the mental health of young people. 

Released by the McCreary Centre Society, the survey posed questions to around 38,000 students between grades 7 and 12 in an effort to glimpse into the lives of B.C. teens.  

The latest edition of the survey, which has been conducted every five years for the past three decades, was released last month. It found that 24 per cent of youth had reported self-harm, up from 16 per cent in 2018 and 15 per cent in 2013. 

It also found that in comparison to past survey years, youth were more likely to have suffered from eating disorders and experienced sexual abuse.  

"We know that youth feel like their own mental health is declining," Whiteside said.

On its website, Foundry says it provides "safe, non-judgmental care, information and resources, and work to reach young people earlier — before health challenges become problematic."

The province says 75 per cent of serious mental-health issues emerge before the age of 25.

The province said more than 17,000 people aged 12 to 24 and their families accessed Foundry services in fiscal year 2022-23, the vast majority through in-person services at centres while a smaller numbers accessed services online.