Seven more B.C. school districts get mental health, substance use teams for kids and youth

B.C. is boosting supports for children, youth and their families battling mental health and substance use issues.

Seven more school districts in the province will get integrated child and youth teams. They will serve Fraser-Cascade school district (Hope, Harrison and Agassiz), Kootenay-Columbia (Trail), Mission, Nanaimo-Ladysmith, Okanagan-Shuswap (Salmon Arm), Pacific Rim (Port Alberni) and Powell River.

“Integrated child and youth teams make is easier for young people and their families to connect to the care they need, where and when they need it,” said Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside in a release Thursday.

Whiteside said the teams will “fill gaps and better co-ordinate mental health, wellness and substance-use care in schools and in the community.”

The teams offer counselling, peer and cultural supports in schools, homes and community settings. They include clinical counsellors, youth substance-use and mental health clinicians, Indigenous Elders and workers supporting Indigenous children and youth.