(Files from Brendan Pawliw MYPGNow staff)
Accessing mental health services for youth and caregivers in Prince George and across BC has been made easier.
Foundry launched its app where young people between the ages of 12-24 can schedule counseling, primary care, peer support, and group sessions.
Executive Director, Steve Mathias told MyPGNow.com the app has been four years in the making and the need for it grew during the pandemic.
“It’s safe to say that we saw a need to rush this into the final stages of its production whereas before we were really looking at implementing that in our centers.”
“We saw that the pandemic was really forcing us to pivot and create a virtual workforce and that’s why the app was accelerated.”
Mathias noted the pandemic has been especially tough on the younger demographic – mostly due to a shrinking amount of available resources.
“Young people quite honestly are struggling to cope because many of their healthy coping strategies have been removed. We are trying to support them to find other ways strategizing and to cope with their anxiety and depression.”
In addition, the province provided 1.6 million dollars to support Foundry’s virtual services.
The Prince George branch can be found at 1148 7th Avenue.