Everyone deserves access to safe, kind, trauma-informed services.

While the Canadian Mental Health Association estimates half of British Columbians will have had or will develop a mental health disorder by the age of 40, residents of the Comox Valley experience depression at rates that are higher than both the provincial and Island Health average. Our hospital is also seeing an increased number of children and youth visiting the Emergency Department looking for support related to mental health and substance use.

We believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to receive compassionate, specialized care and, together, we can improve mental health and substance use support in our hospital and within the community.

Examples include providing access to special training to help frontline staff respond to and care for youth facing extremely intense mental health and substance use challenges and funding a community-based overdose prevention pilot project involving motion-sensor technology. Another way donors have enhanced this area of care is by providing e-bikes to our Island Health outreach team to ensure community members who are precariously housed have access to care and better support. Fundraising efforts have been designated to ongoing initiatives to reduce stigma related to mental health and substance use and to facilitate peer-led programs in the community.