Building better mental health and addictions care

When people decide to reach out for help, support needs to be available. 
That’s why we’re working to make sure people across B.C. can access counselling services for free or at low cost, when and where they need it. 

Counselling services:

• Open to individuals, couples and families through 47 community agencies
• Available in-person or virtually
• Free, low-cost or based on a sliding scale depending on your ability to pay

To find a counselling service in your area:

• Visit HelpStartsHere
• Call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 to find a location near you (24/7)

290,000+ counselling sessions have been provided since 2019.

The last few years have not been easy on young people. Studies have shown that youth were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

To help young people get the health and wellness care, connection and support they need, we are expanding Foundry youth centres across the province.

Foundry youth wellness centres:

• Are a province-wide network of integrated health and wellness services designed to meet the needs of young people ages 12-24
• Make it easier for youth to access 5 core services in one location to get care and support without needing referrals or to retell their story
  • mental health care
  • substance use services
  • physical and sexual health care
  • youth and family peer supports
  • social services to help with life, school and work
• Services are free, safe and non-judgmental.

To access care:

• Learn more about Foundry's approach
• Find a Foundry centre near you (17 locations now open)
• Access virtual services on the Foundry BC app (Provincewide)
• Call 1-833-308-6379

All 35 Foundry Centres are expected to be open by 2028. More than 16,000 young people accessed Foundry services last year.

It is estimated that 75% of serious mental-health issues emerge before the age of 25. Drug toxicity and suicide are the leading causes of death for people ages 15 to 18.

To fill gaps in mental health and addiction care for young people up to age 19, we’re expanding Integrated Child and Youth Teams to 20 school districts across the province.

Integrated Child and Youth Teams:

• Make it easier for young people and their families to connect to the mental health and addiction care they need, when and where they need it – at school and in the community
• Use a coordinated, team-based approach to:
  • help families navigate services and remove roadblocks
  • bring service providers together to deliver better, seamless care
  • reduce the need to retell stories, which can be traumatizing for some

To access care:

• Learn more about Integrated Child and Youth Teams
• Contact your school, health care provider, Foundry Centre, community or Indigenous organization to get connected

Integrated Child and Youth Teams may serve as many as 5,800 children and youth every month once fully operational in all 20 school districts.

Raising a child doesn’t come with a manual or playbook. There are times when parents need help to guide a child through a difficult time in their life.

• Confident Parents, Thriving Kids is a telephone-based coaching program to help parents of children (ages 3 to 12) develop skills and strategies to deal with:
  • Behaviour challenges – uncooperative or disruptive behaviour, aggression or defiance
  • Anxiety – behaviour challenges that only appear in certain situations, like getting ready or going to bed, or they may seem restless, agitated, withdrawn or tearful, complain of stomach aches or have trouble falling asleep
• Weekly telephone-based coaching sessions are free, available provincewide and can be booked during the day, evenings or weekends

To access support:

• Learn more about Confident Parents, Thriving Kids
• Find out how to get a referral to sign up

Building off the success of the Confident Parents, Thriving Kids anxiety program, the We Are Indigenous: Big Worries, Strong Spirit Program:

• Serves Indigenous families across B.C. whose children aged 3-12 are experiencing mild to moderate big worries/fears (anxiety)
• Provides free telephone- and computer-based coaching sessions and practice activities over the 7-to-15-week program
• Was guided, created and developed through Indigenous perspectives for Indigenous families and acknowledges the:
  • strong spiritedness of Indigenous families
  • importance of supporting First Nations in their wellness wisdoms
  • disruptive influences of colonization on Indigenous families

To access support:

• Learn more about the Big Worries, Strong Spirit program
• Find out how to get a referral to sign up

Psychosis is a serious mental illness that often emerges between the ages of 18-24, affecting nearly 1 in 30 people. Early intervention can help reduce the negative impact it can have on a person’s life.

We’re expanding Early Psychosis Intervention programs across the province to help more young people and their families get the support and treatment they need.

Early Psychosis Intervention programs:

• Provide an assessment of early symptoms of psychosis
• Offer comprehensive treatments and supports as quickly as possible when young patients experience the first symptoms
• Support easy access to care from multidisciplinary teams, so all resources are available in one place, without needing a doctor’s referral

To access care:

• Learn more about the Early Psychosis Intervention program
• Find a location near you (no referral required)

The toxic drug crisis continues to devastate families and communities across North America, and B.C. is no exception.

The pandemic dramatically worsened the toxic drug crisis. Illicit drugs became more poisonous, more unpredictable and more deadly, and more people are developing extremely complex needs.

There is no one solution that will end this crisis. That is why we’re urgently expanding access to all forms of mental health and addictions care so more people can stay alive and find the care that works for them. This includes:

• Increasing early intervention and prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services, supportive and complex care housing, and more
• Raising awareness of dangers of street drugs while providing guidance on ways to help keep people alive
• Making it easier for people to get help, and removing the barriers that may prevent them from doing so
• Targeting organized criminals who are profiting off the toxic drugs that are killing our loved ones

Learn more about B.C. Escalated drug-poisoning response actions

According to the BC Coroners Service, the number of toxic-drug deaths in the first 6 months of 2024 is 9% lower compared to the same period in 2023, and the rate of death is at its lowest point in 4 years. Data on deaths is subject to change as investigations close.

Overdose prevention and supervised consumption sites save lives. They reduce the risk of toxic drug poisonings and connect people to lifesaving supports and treatment.

We’ve rapidly expanded access to these services in communities hardest hit by the toxic drug crisis – growing from one site in 2017 to over 50 sites in 2024.

Overdose prevention and supervised consumption sites:

• Are a safe space to use drugs under the supervision of trained workers
• Provide harm reduction and lifesaving health care:
  • clean supplies
  • drug-checking services
  • emergency first aid (oxygen and naloxone) in case of overdose
• Build trust so people feel safe reaching out for help when ready
• Connect people to care, treatment, housing and other social services

To access care:

• Find an overdose prevention site in your health region

There have been more than 4.8 million visits and 29,641 overdoses responded to and survived between 2017 and May 2024.

Naloxone is a medication that can quickly reverse an opioid overdose.

Since 2012, people in B.C. have been able to get naloxone kits to keep and use in case of emergency. We are currently working to ensure consistent access to kits in more locations, including post-secondary institutions.

Take Home Naloxone kits are:

• Easy to use with little or no training
• Free at 2,200+ pharmacies and other locations

To get your kit:

• Visit a pharmacy – no prescription required
• Use the site finder to find a kit near you

Demand for Take-Home Naloxone kits remain high. Since the program started, more than 2.4 million kits have been shipped and research estimates 43% of them were used to reverse an overdose.

Today’s drug supply is poisoned. Street drugs often contain fentanyl or other synthetic opioids that are so strong even a tiny bit can be deadly. You can’t tell by looking at it.

To help keep people safe, we’re expanding drug checking services across the province to reduce the risk of overdose and connect people to care and support.

Drug checking services are available at 119 sites across B.C.

• 57 sites offer immediate results at least one day per week
• 62 sites let people drop off samples and receive results within a few days

To access care:

• Learn more about drug checking and what’s in your drugs
• Find a drug checking site near you

We’ve invested in a cutting-edge enhanced drug-checking technology, HarmCheck, developed by Vancouver Island University that more accurately identifies substances in drugs.

Toxic drug overdose is a leading cause of death in B.C. Most people die at home, using alone.

The Lifeguard app is a life-saving tool that alerts 9-1-1 if an overdose occurs. It can be used on a phone or computer.

How the Lifeguard app works:

• Users activate the app before they take their first dose
• After 50 seconds, the app will sound an alarm
• If the user doesn’t stop the alarm to indicate they are fine, the alarm grows louder
• After 75 seconds a text-to-voice call will go straight to 9-1-1 to alert dispatchers of a potential overdose and provide the users’ location

The Lifeguard app also:

• Provides alerts about toxic drugs in the area
• Has how-to guides for giving CPR and Naloxone
• Connects people to HealthLink 8-1-1 and suicide crisis lines

Learn more and download the Lifeguard app

As of June 2024, there have been 144,000 uses of the app from nearly 55,000 users. 200 calls were made to 9-1-1, leading to 114 “confirmed ok” callbacks and 92 overdose reversals. No deaths have been reported through the app.

It’s impossible to know if a drug is toxic by looking at, but it helps to know if toxic drugs are circulating in your community so people can take steps to be safer.

Toxic Drug and Health Alerts is a free, real-time text message service that is now available in all B.C. health authorities. People can sign up to:

• Get alerts about toxic drugs in their community
• Share information if they discover potential toxic drugs in their community
• Find out where to get naloxone or how to get drugs tested

To sign up:

• Text the word JOIN to 253787 (ALERTS)
• Follow the prompts to customize settings

Learn more about Toxic Drug and Health Alerts

B.C.’s illegal opioid supply is poisoned and deadly.

Prescribed Alternatives is a health care strategy to save lives. It separates people most at risk of dying from the toxic drug supply by providing a safer form of opioid to help stabilize their health and life. It is a step toward treatment.

Under the Prescribed Alternatives program, people at risk are:

• Provided a regulated form of opioid medication under the care of a clinician
• Connected to ongoing supports and treatment, this could include transitioning to opioid agonist treatment – a slow acting medication to prevent withdrawals, cut cravings and reduce risk of overdose

Prescribed alternatives reduced the risk of death by 91%, according to a recent study in the British Medical Journal. B.C. is the first jurisdiction in Canada to offer this proven approach. We will continue:

• Monitoring, evaluating and collecting data to support ongoing improvements to the program
• Working with experts to develop methods to track prescribed alternatives to help identify and prevent diversion to the illicit drug supply

To access care:

• Speak with your primary care provider, visit a walk-in clinic or talk to an outreach worker

4,387 people received prescribed alternatives from 741 doctors in April 2024.

Men working in trades are overrepresented in the number of deaths from the toxic drug crisis.

We’ve worked to help people stay safer by expanding the Tailgate Toolkit harm reduction program to reach construction, trades and transport workers across B.C. following a successful pilot with Vancouver Island Construction Association.

The Tailgate Toolkit program:

• Trains supervisors and company leaders
• Teaches people about:
  • risks of using drugs alone
  • pain management options
  • overdose prevention
  • access to treatment and life-saving support
• Encourages conversations to help reduce stigma and offer support
  • onsite and virtual toolbox talks
  • industry support groups

Learn more about Tailgate Toolkit – You Deserve the Right Tools

A BC Coroner's Report from 2022 found of the 35% of people who were employed at the time of their death, 52% of them worked in construction, trades or transport industry.

Every community responding to the toxic drug crisis has different needs.

We’ve expanded Community Action Teams to help 35 communities hardest hit by the overdose crisis. These Teams work with regional responders to identify overdose prevention interventions that will most effectively meet local needs.

Community Action Teams:

• Help save lives and reduce drug harms by distributing naloxone, supporting overdose prevention services, providing peer supports and reducing stigma
• Address the unsafe drug supply by expanding drug-checking services and increasing access to addiction-treatment medications
• Intervene early to connect people who use drugs to services like treatment and housing

Learn more about Community Action Teams

Community Action Teams now support 35 communities across B.C., up from 18 in 2018.

Addiction is a health issue, not a criminal one. Decriminalization aims to shift people who use drugs away from the criminal justice system and towards health and social supports.

Decriminalizing people who use drugs is one of the many actions we’re taking to respond to the toxic drug crisis that is killing our loved ones, so people live to get the care they need.

The goal of decriminalizing people who use drugs is to reduce stigma and fear of criminal prosecution that prevents people from reaching out for help or medical assistance.

Currently in B.C.:

• Public drug use is illegal. People are not allowed to use or possess illicit drugs in public spaces, such as hospitals, businesses, transit, and parks
• Adults can legally possess small amounts of some illicit drugs (opioids, cocaine, meth and ecstasy) for personal use in specific places including private homes, shelters, and outpatient addiction, overdose prevention and drug-checking sites

Learn more about decriminalizing people who use drugs

In a 2022 survey, 47% of people who use drugs reported at least one barrier, including fear of criminalization, that made them hesitate to access the services they needed to be healthy.

Every person’s path to treatment and recovery is different and the journey is not always linear.

That’s why we’re working to make it faster and easier for people to get the care they need, where and when they need it, by:

• Building a more integrated, patient-centred approach to care that better supports people throughout their journey
• Hiring more mental health and addiction specialists
• Urgently expanding treatment and recovery services
  • B.C. now has 3,645 publicly-funded substance use treatment beds, including 659 new beds opened since 2017, with more to come
  • 5,300 adults received inpatient treatment and recovery support in 2023-24, up 1,100 from the year before
• Expanding youth addiction services, including: 
  • 20 youth substance use beds at the Indigenous-led Orca Lelum Wellness Centre 
  • 28 new beds for street entrenched youth through the new Sanctuary program at Covenant House in downtown Vancouver 
  • 33 new and expanded substance-use programs, supported by approximately 130 new health-care workers, specifically for young people including  therapists, clinicians, social workers, harm-reduction coordinators, epidemiologists, nurses and nurse practitioners, outreach workers, counsellors,  Indigenous patient navigators and liaisons, and others to communities across B.C.  

Treatment and recovery care

A person’s treatment and recovery journey usually includes one or all of the following:

• Detox – helps people safely manage withdrawal symptoms under the care of a health care provider (may be outpatient or bed-based care for 5-7 days)
• Stabilization and Transition – provides a safe space for people moving between services to stabilize if they cannot safely do so from home (bed-based for 24 hours to 30 days)
• Treatment – can take place in a live-in environment (30-90 days) or at home through outpatient services. People often receive counselling, life-skills training and medical services like Opioid Agonist Treatment
• Supportive Recovery – provides low- or moderate-levels of support in a live-in environment after treatment or instead of treatment, depending on a person’s needs
• Ongoing Recovery and Aftercare – Recovery doesn’t end after treatment. Aftercare helps keep people connected to community supports like peer, housing and employment services
• Outpatient treatment services – Provide addiction treatment and support in an office or outpatient clinic setting such as one-on-one or group counselling, medical treatment such as opioid agonist treatment, and connections to housing and peer support groups

To access care:

• Visit: HelpStartsHere.gov.bc.ca/Treatment
• Call: HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 to find a service near you (24/7)

We’ve made a historic $1-billion investment to expand mental health and addictions care and strengthen the continuum of care through new approaches, like Road to Recovery, that provides more seamless and same-day access to care across services.

Every moment counts when people want help with their addiction. That is why we’re taking action to make it faster and easier for people to get on a new path.

Road to Recovery is a new model of addictions care that seamlessly moves people through detox, treatment and recovery services.

The Road to Recovery model was first launched in Vancouver in 2023. We’re now expanding it to all health regions across the province. Once fully launched, people seeking help can call the Access Central phone line in their region to:

• Speak with a doctor or nurse that same day
• Get a clinical assessment to and treatment plan
• Matched to the right level of care without delay
• Receive support from the same team throughout the recovery journey

To access care now:

• Vancouver health region: Call Access Central at 1-866-658-1221
• For other health regions:
  • Visit: HelpStartsHere.gov.bc.ca/Treatment
  • Call: HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 to find a service near you (24/7)

1,537 people accessed detox beds through Vancouver Access Central between October 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. People prioritized as urgent were able to access a bed within 1 day.

Opioid addiction is a chronic medical condition that makes it hard to stop using, but there are treatments that can help.

Opioid agonist treatment uses medications (methadone, Suboxone, Kadian or Sublocade) prescribed by a trained doctor or nurse that act slowly in the body to prevent withdrawals, cut cravings and reduce the risk of overdose.

This helps people stabilize their health and has been shown to help people stay in treatment and away from illicit opioid use.

We’re making it faster and easier for people to access this lifesaving treatment over the phone and in person.

• Opioid Treatment Access Line (9 am-4 pm): 1-833-804-8111
  • Connect with a dedicated team, including doctors and nurses, who can prescribe opioid treatment medication the same day
  • Get connected to other supports in your community
  • Free, confidential and available across the province
  • Open 7 days a week from 9am to 4pm
• Other ways to access care
  • Visit a Rapid Access Addiction Clinic or talk to an outreach worker
  • Speak with your primary care provider
  • First Nations virtual services
  • Visit: HelpStartsHere.gov.bc.ca/Treatment
  • Call: HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 to find a service near you (24/7)

In 2021, B.C. became the first in Canada to train nurses to prescribe opioid agonist medications. Nearly 200 nurses across the province are already helping people access this lifesaving treatment.

Mental health and addiction care is health care. That’s why we’re working to make it easier for people with mild to moderate challenges to get the care they need at the health clinics and hospitals they already visit by:

• Providing mental health and addiction services, including screening, assessment, care and referrals to specialized programs, at: 
  • Urgent and Primary Care Centres 
  • Community Health Centres 
  • First Nations Primary Care Centres 
  • Foundry Centres 
  • Virtual supports through Health Authorities 
• Having family doctors, nurse practitioners, Indigenous health providers, psychologists, counsellors and social workers work together to understand patients’ needs and provide appropriate and timely services 
• Adding and expanding inpatient mental health units in hospitals
• Recruiting more staff to increase access to services
  • Work in the mental health and substance use sector

To access non-emergency care:

• Contact your local Urgent and Primary Care Centre or walk-in clinic
• Call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 to find a service near you (24/7)

39 UPCCs are now open across B.C., with plans to open about 50 by end of 2025.

When a person has severe addiction and mental health disorders at the same time, they need specialized care for both because each affects the other.

Red Fish is a model of care that provides specialized mental health and addictions treatment together.

This proven approach better meets the needs of people with serious and persistent challenges who have not been successfully treated by other programs. It also fills an important service gap for people who often end up in custody or emergency departments instead of getting the help they need.

Initially launched at the Red Fish Healing Centre in Coquitlam, we’re working to expand the Red Fish model to other locations so more people can access care closer to home.

Red Fish Healing Centre:

• 105-bed facility designed for people with the most complex and concurrent mental health and addiction challenges
• Provides specialized inpatient treatment and recovery services (6-9 months)
• Offers highly structured, trauma-informed and culturally safe programming
• Staffed with medical professionals 24/7

To access care:

• Learn more about the Red Fish Healing Centre
• Ask your doctor or addictions specialist for a referral

To find other treatment and recovery options near you:

• Visit: HelpStartsHere.gov.bc.ca/Treatment
• Call: HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 to find a service near you (24/7)

89% of Red Fish clients reported improved mental health between admission and discharge.

Another side of the toxic drug crisis that is rarely talked about is the long-term effects of poisonous opioids and repeated overdoses on the brain.

During an overdose, the brain is deprived of oxygen. If not reversed quickly or occurs repeatedly, it can lead to an acquired brain injury that can:

• Impact the ability to make rational decisions
• Cause behavioural changes affecting personal safety or that of others
• Lead to a cycle of evictions, homelessness and jail

This growing population of vulnerable people requires a cohesive system of support that addresses their unique health, housing, cultural and social needs:

• Complex Care Housing – provides safe homes with wraparound care and services to the most vulnerable people with overlapping mental health and addiction challenges
• Concurrent disorder treatment – provides specialized mental health and addiction treatment at the same time
• Cognitive rehabilitation – helps people recover from brain injuries and better understand and manage any ongoing challenges to improve quality of life

Other ways we’re helping

• Supporting ongoing research into brain injury, mental health and addictions through the Constable Gerard Breese Centre for Traumatic Losses to propose evidence-based solutions and services that are integrated, accessible and culturally safe
• Appointed a chief scientific advisor for psychiatry, toxic drugs, and concurrent disorders to explore solutions and provide advice on ways to help people

To access care:

• Ask your doctor or addictions specialist for a referral
• Visit: HelpStartsHere.gov.bc.ca/Treatment
• Call: HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 to find a service near you (24/7)

Assertive Community Treatment Teams provide additional care and support to people living with a concurrent disorder or complex mental health challenge.

The Teams:

• Operate 24/7 with a multi-disciplinary team of professionals working together
• Have low staff to patient ratios to ensure frequent contact with clients
• Provide services in the community (in client homes, work, parks, and recreation locations, etc.) including:
  • crisis assessment and intervention
  • housing supports
  • psychiatric/psychological treatment
  • medication management and supports for addiction disorder
  • work-related services and family support

To access care:

• Learn more about Assertive Community Treatment Teams
• Find a Team near you

As of February 2024, there are 30 Teams providing care to nearly 1,800 people per month.

In B.C., First Nations people are almost 6 times more likely to die from a toxic drug overdose. This is in part due to the ongoing and intergenerational trauma from colonialism and racism.

Indigenous communities need programs and services that meet their specific needs and are in the best position to determine what services are right for them.

We are working with the First Nations Health Authority and Métis Nation BC to support the delivery of Indigenous-led services and increase access to culturally appropriate resources:

• Expanding Indigenous-led treatment, recovery and aftercare services
• Opening the first Indigenous-led Foundry centre in Cranbrook, which will provide Indigenous youth and all young people in the East Kootenay region with access to culturally relevant care and support to live healthier lives
• Supporting 8 First Nations treatment and healing centres; 6 are being renovated and 2 new facilities are being planned
• Launching B.C.’s first of its kind treatment centre for Indigenous youth on Vancouver Island, at Orca Lelum Youth Wellness Centre in Lantzville
• Opening Complex Care Housing in Cranbrook, to support Indigenous individuals living in Ktunaxa Nation communities
• Developing the Northwest Working Group to create more culturally appropriate resources to better serve people living with addiction in the Northwest

To access care:

• Find a FNHA Treatment Centre near you
• Read Toxic Drug Crisis Data

Many people who have complex mental health and addiction challenges struggle to access the care they need to stabilize their lives and find a pathway to hope and healing.

We’re expanding the Hope to Health Clinic in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside so it can reach 1,000 more people with complex needs, and potentially expand this proven model of care to other communities across the province.

The Hope to Health clinic:

• Offers primary health and addiction services, including pharmacy support, dietary counselling, addiction treatment medication, access to mental health professionals and more
• Provides wraparound supports from peers and people with lived experience, making it easier for people to keep up with their treatment plans and get the social support they need to stay on their recovery track
• Provides consistent care and follow up, reducing the need for emergency services, hospital visits and readmissions

Learn more about the Hope to Health Clinic and approach

2,800 people will be able to get the care and wraparound support they need following the Hope to Health Clinic expansion.

Some people with complex mental health and addiction challenges need extra support to keep their housing, or risk facing eviction or homelessness.

Complex Care Housing helps people with overlapping challenges by providing stable housing with onsite support and wraparound health services right in their own home.

We are determined to make sure everyone in B.C. has access to a home – a place to feel safe and live with dignity.

We began creating complex care housing in 2022, with a goal of providing services for 500 people by 2025. We expanded the program in 2023, announcing 240 new purpose-built complex care housing units as part of the Homes for People plan.

To access care:

• Learn more about Complex Care Housing
• Contact BC Housing at 1-800-257-7756

As of July 2024, 500 people are being supported through Complex Care Housing services, reaching our goal one year ahead of schedule.

Many people leaving treatment need ongoing support in the community when they return home.

Since 2022, we’ve funded Recovery Community Centres in 3 Vancouver locations. We’re now expanding this model to communities in the Fraser, Interior, Island and Northern Health regions.

Recovery Community Centres provide community-based recovery supports from dedicated workers to help people achieve sustained recovery through:

• Recovery coaching
• Relapse prevention
• Life-skills programming
• Culture-based healing initiatives
• Peer support to help build connections, resiliency and wellness
• Other services to ensure people are supported long-term

To access care:

• Contact your doctor or addictions specialist
• Visit: HelpStartsHere.gov.bc.ca/Treatment
• Call: 8-1-1 (24/7) to find a service near you

855+ people have received support through the Vancouver Recovery Community Centres since November 2022.

Healthcare workers have been on the frontlines of helping people through the pandemic and toxic drug crisis.

Now healthcare workers have a safe place to turn to when they need help.

Care to Speak is an initiative for healthcare and community social services workers:

• Free and confidential phone, text and webchat service
• Provides peer-based support and targeted mental health resources

To access care, visit CareforCaregivers.ca

Most users report an increase in their ability to cope and that they will access the service again.

Workplaces play a crucial role in maintaining and promoting positive mental health.

We are working with partners like the Canadian Mental Health Association BC Division, WorkSafeBC, Health and Safety Associations, and labour groups to improve the culture of workplaces in BC.

• Expanding the People Working Well hub with webinars, free training courses and access to learning coaches so more people can get the mental health supports they need
• Developing more resources to support employers in building psychologically safe workplaces for employees living with mental illness(es)

“We haven't seen something like this before, and I think just the fact that it's available and a place to turn to is really impressive and helpful.” -- Hub client

When people are in crisis because of mental health or addiction challenges, we know that police-only involvement is not always the most appropriate response and can deter people from seeking help.

That's why we're expanding civilian-led care teams in more communities.

Peer Assisted Care Teams pair a trained peer who has lived experience with a mental health professional to provide compassionate trauma-informed care to people in crisis, while freeing up police to focus on crime and law enforcement.

Peer Assisted Care Teams:

• De-escalate situations
• Offer a listening ear
• Connect people to local resources
• Divert crises from emergency rooms to more empathetic and effective mental health supports

Teams are available in:

• 4 communities Prince George, Victoria, New Westminster and North/West Vancouver
• 2 more teams set to launch in Kamloops and Comox in late 2024

To access care:

• Learn more about Peer Assisted Care Teams
• Find a Team in your community

Peer Assisted Care Teams responded to nearly 3,500 calls to date. Only 1% required a police response.

Mobile Integrated Crisis Response Teams pair a police officer with a healthcare worker to respond to mental health or substance use crisis where there may be a safety risk, so people can be safely connected to the care they need.  

• Health care workers provide on-site mental health assessments, crisis intervention and referrals to appropriate services in the community
• Police officers look after safety concerns to makes sure everyone is safe

Teams are available in:

• 17 communities Abbotsford, Burnaby, Chilliwack, Coquitlam/Port Coquitlam, Kamloops, Kelowna, Penticton, Prince George, Fort St. John, Richmond, Surrey, North Shore, Nanaimo, Vancouver, Vernon, Victoria, and Westshore
• 2 more teams set to launch in Squamish and Prince Rupert in late 2024

To access care:

• Call 9-1-1 or the police non-emergency line in your area

Housing insecurity increased in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Some of the most vulnerable people have been pushed out of the bottom of the housing market, leading some to seek shelter in encampments. This is a problem playing out across North America.

That is why we’re taking action to deliver more shelters, homes and supports people need so everyone can have a safe place to live.

• Moving people out of encampments by:
  • providing rapid, coordinated and multi-disciplinary response through the Homeless Encampment Action Response Team (HEART) and Homeless Encampment Action Response for Temporary Housing (HEARTH) programs
  • increasing supports for at risk of or experiencing homelessness to address poverty, mental health, addiction and other challenges
• Funding 6,100 shelter spaces in 50 communities, including permanent, temporary and extreme weather spaces this past winter – up 45% overall and double the permanent spaces since 2017
• Building nearly 8,800 supportive homes since 2017 to move people out of homelessness – of those, nearly 6,000 are now homes for people
• Delivering more affordable homes for people through the Homes for People plan – 80,000 homes have been delivered or are underway since 2017
• Protecting renters from bad faith evictions and, renovictions
• Providing financial support for people struggling to pay rent through:
  • Rental assistance programs for people with low incomes
  • Shelter aid for elderly renters
  • Rent Bank for people facing an unexpected financial crisis

Find more housing services and learn about the Homes for People plan

People say they feel better, and are better off, when they have a job. But some people facing mental health, addiction and housing challenges struggle to get and keep a job.

That’s why we’re reducing barriers for people who can work, while continuing to support those who cannot.

Community-based Employment Services is a new pilot program for people facing complex barriers to employment that:

• Offers tailored and flexible supports to help people stabilize
• Provides wraparound supports while people work on volunteer projects or participate in training to build employment readiness
• Helps people gain stability, confidence and skills to get and keep a job

The pilot program is available in September 2024 in:

• Victoria through Beacon Community Services
• Nanaimo through Canadian  Mental Health Association (CMHA)
• Vancouver (Downtown Eastside) through Lookout Housing and Health Society
• Prince George through Prince George Nechako Aboriginal Employment & Training Association  
• Surrey through Lookout Housing and Health Society

Other ways to access support:

• WorkBC - offers a wide range of employment services, training and education supports online and in-person across the province
• Foundry Work & Education – a free program to help youth 15-24 overcome barriers to getting work, going to school or starting a training program
• CMHA Links to Employment offers a full range of supports and services, including employment, delivered in a primary-care setting
• CMHA Bed Based Recovery integrates employment services within treatment and recovery centres

To help people get through tough times, we’re making it easier for people to access support and setting new targets to reduce poverty.

B.C.’s new Poverty Reduction Strategy lays out work needed to create a province where every person has access to everyday necessities they can afford and opportunities to get and keep a good job.

• Making sure people have access to everyday necessities – food, housing, health care and transportation
• Helping people with the rising cost of living
• Delivering more homes people can afford
• Improving wages and access to skills training and employment services
• Making child care more affordable for families

By 2034, B.C. intends to reduce:

• Overall poverty by 60%
• Child poverty by 75%
• Senior’s poverty by 50%

To access support:

• Learn more about the 2024 Poverty Reduction Strategy
• Connect to benefits and savings to help with everyday costs
• Apply for income or disability assistance

B.C.’s overall poverty rate by was 27.5% lower and the child poverty rate 36.8% lower in 2022 than 2016. This means that there were 163,000 fewer people living in poverty, including 50,000 children.

To help break the cycle, we need to intervene early and address the root causes.

That’s why we are funding 45 Community Safety Situation Tables across B.C., including an Intervention Circle in Esk’etemc First Nation. Thirty-six of these are operational and the other 9 are being implemented.

Community Safety Situation Tables is a proven model used across the country. It brings together front-line public safety, health and social services staff to:

• Identify people and families at risk before they’re further victimized, overdose, get evicted or incarcerated
• Rapidly connect people and families to services and supports they need to address mental health, addiction, trauma, poverty and housing challenges
• Reduce need for emergency and police responses

36 out of 45 tables are currently active while the rest are under implementation. 

In 2023, Community Safety Situation Table discussions reduced the risk of overdose, victimization, crime or harm to self or others by 70%.