On-site community counseling services will be provided over the next few days following Sunday’s events at the Stampede Grounds.
The City of Williams Lake working with Interior Health and Emergency Health Services BC will be offering this support.
“This response is coming to us from the Provincial Health Services through Health Emergency Management BC.” Katie Matuschewski, Clinical Operation Manager with Interior Health for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Cariboo-Chilcotin. “The program comes with Crisis Intervention Specialists with the Mobile Response team and also volunteers comprised of mental health professionals and paraprofessionals. The team has been deployed to provide psychosocial support for the public and front line workers impacted by disasters and some critical events such as the one in Williams Lake.”
Matuschewski said they’re pleased to provide support at the Gibraltar Room in the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex starting tonight (July 5) from 6 pm to 8 pm and continuing tomorrow through Friday from 10 am to 8 pm.
“The Mobile Response will be providing support to adults as well as information about childhood and trauma and what that might look like and Interior Health will have on-site youth clinicians who will be able to provide that child and youth ones if needed,” Matuschewski said.
There will be different tables and areas set up to provide privacy as needed Matuschewski added. Sometimes one-to-one interaction isn’t what’s needed, sometimes people just want to come in and get the information and have something to digest and take away, so we can provide that, or if they need that more one-to-one conversation we’ll also provide that.
Matuschewski said over the next few days they’ll be providing a safe space for individuals to come in, debrief, chat, or gain resources, whatever your needs are that’s what they’ll be here to help you figure out.
No reservations are required to attend these on-site community counseling services.
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