NORTH VANCOUVER – New Democrat MLA Bowinn Ma is welcoming funding through the Community Counselling Grant Program to provide greater access to low and no-cost mental health and substance use supports.

“With this funding in hand, organizations all over the province will be able to address gaps in care options, and remove barriers to help,” said MLA Ma. “There is more to do. This is only the beginning as we continue our work to deliver supports for everyone, at a cost they can afford.”

Turning Point Recovery Society, based in Richmond, is receiving a grant to hire additional counsellors, and expand their programs in Richmond, Vancouver, and on the North Shore. The focus of services include those with lived substance use issues, hard to reach males, and those needing to access services in Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi and Hindi.

The Native Courtworker and Counselling Association of British Columbia, headquartered on the North Shore, is receiving a grant to enhance their substance use program in Surrey. The organization will be using the funding to hire additional staff, and expand workshop opportunities for clients.

Grants are being awarded to twenty-nine community organizations across B.C. through the Community Counselling Grants Program administered by Community Action Initiative. Ma added that a third of all recipients will be servicing Indigenous communities.

MLA Ma said that the BC New Democrat government is committed to providing faster access to mental health services, when and where people need it, and that this funding is part of A Pathway to Hope: A roadmap for improving mental health and addictions care for everyone in B.C.

Learn More: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2019MMHA0108-002092