CAMPBELL RIVER – North Island MLA Michele Babchuk is welcoming two grants for communities to deliver mental health and addictions supports locally.

“Accessing supports in a timely and culturally safe way is so important for people working through mental health or addiction challenges,” said MLA Babchuk. “Supporting and funding local services providers helps breakdown barriers and provides people in rural and remote communities with the services they need, when they need them”.

The grant recipients in the North Island are the Gwa’saka ‘Nakwaxda’xw Nation and the Kwakiutl District Health Council.

People in more rural and remote areas of the North Island face obstacles when it comes to accessing substance use services.  Geographic remoteness may mean longer travel distances to access health care and treatment, and access to Naloxone and harm reduction services can be limited in areas with low populations.

These funds are intended to address these inequities by supporting community groups, service providers, and Indigenous-led organizations to carry out local actions specific to the needs of their community. More than one million dollars in grants are being distributed to twenty-three rural, remote, and Indigenous communities and organizations throughout B.C.

B.C.’s New Democrat government is enhancing B.C.’s response to the overdose crisis, an integral part of A Pathway to Hope, B.C.’s roadmap for building the comprehensive system of mental health and addictions care British Columbians deserve.

Learn More:

Island’s rural, remote Indigenous communities receive grants to address overdose

A Pathway to Hope – B.C.’s roadmap for making mental health and addictions care better for everyone: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/initiatives-plans-strategies/mental-health-and-addictions-strategy/bcmentalhealthroadmap_2019web-5.pdf

Building Pathways Forward Together – report from the 2019 Rural and Indigenous Overdose Exchange: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/overdose-awareness/rural-indigenous-overdose-action-exchange.pdf