Rick Stiebel
B次元官网网址 Staff
The population boom on the West Shore is significantly impacting the time it takes to reach youth and families searching for support, said Jennifer Munro, clinical director for Pacific Centre Family Services Association.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e always had waiting lists, but they are increasing faster than we can handle. TheyB次元官网网址檝e increased dramatically, even in the past six months,B次元官网网址� Munro said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 critical at this time.B次元官网网址�
A staff of 30 at PCFSA, which includes 25 counsellors, provide support, services and programs with a trauma-informed focus for individuals, youth, couples and families dealing with a wide range of issues. B次元官网网址淭hat includes increased effort to support Indigenous people in our community,B次元官网网址� Munro noted.
B次元官网网址淲ait times for many programs are from six to seven months, significantly higher than just two years ago,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淔rom 2017 into 2018 is where we really saw the wait times increase. The rapid increase in population on the West Shore is definitely a major factor.B次元官网网址�
PCFSA deals with about 1,500 people a year, with close to half involving support for youth and families.
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The complexity of issues that are dealt with now compared to the past is another contributing factor, she added.
While funding for PCFSA comes from many sources, including municipalities and corporate donations, the majority comes from the provincial government through the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Ministry of Public Safety and the Solicitor General.
Funding is significantly impacted by the increase in population, noted Munro and Mia Golden, co-ordinator of Crime Reduction and Exploitation Diversion for PCFSA. B次元官网网址淔unding isnB次元官网网址檛 keeping pace with the explosive growth on the West Shore to meet the needs of the families and youth that we assist.B次元官网网址�
Youth Talk, an innovative program which has provided online counselling for youth across Canada for the past five years, is a casualty of funding cuts, Golden said. B次元官网网址淚t helped kids from across the country who, for a variety of reasons, were not willing to access face-to-face counselling. We never envisioned that kind of demand locally and nationally from youth dealing with very serious issues, including suicide and sexual abuse.B次元官网网址�
For more information on the PCFSA and programs provided, visit .
