BCMHSUS & BC Mental Health Foundation: Working for Better Health

Over the past year, the BC Mental Health Foundation, which was founded in 2005, has been reorganizing and reinventing itself to best support BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services’ (BCMHSUS) programs.

The new Board of Directors has been leading this work and recently approved four important donations to BCMHSUS. The Foundation, the provincial fundraising organization that supports BCMHSUS, approved the donations at the January and February board meetings.

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“The care that BCMHSUS provides is so important,” said Andrew Leonard, Chair of the Foundation. “Much of it happens out of the view of the public, whether in our Red Fish Healing Centre for concurrent disorders, our Heartwood program for women, in a provincial correctional facility, or at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital. These life-saving programs aid some of the most vulnerable, most high-acuity people in our province. Helping them helps benefit our society as a whole.”

At the 105-bed Red Fish Healing Centre for Mental Health and Addiction, recovery and healing is promoted for people from across B.C. who live with the most severe concurrent substance use and mental health issues. The evidence-based model of care, which prioritizes trauma-informed practice, dignity, and therapeutic spaces and programs, is the only one of its kind in North America.

Similarly, the treatment provided at the 30-bed Heartwood Centre for Women is also based on research, is trauma-informed, and uses a whole-person approach. Heartwood is for women from across B.C., including members of Two-Spirit and gender-diverse communities, who live with severe substance use challenges and mild-to-moderate mental health concerns.

Approximately $200,000 in Foundation funding will support four initiatives at BCMHSUS:

• Enhanced education, risk assessments, and risk management for physicians, nurses, and other staff at Forensic Psychiatric Hospital.
• Improved safety, comfort, and Indigenous cultural safety at the Heartwood Centre for Women.
• Financial support for Indigenous care supplies at the Red Fish Healing Centre for Mental Health and Addiction, including indigenous medicines, ceremonial supplies and fabrics for ribbon skirt making.
• Financial support for the BCMHSUS-led 2025 BC Concurrent Disorders Conference, happening on April 10.

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“A big thank you to the Foundation, and its donors,” said Jennifer Duff, Chief Operating Officer, BCMHSUS. “Our organization is dedicated to not only supporting patients and clients in our care, but also eradicating stigma and racism, advancing research, and furthering public understanding about mental health and substance use. These donations will help drive all of that forward.”

To learn more about the BC Mental Health Foundation, including how to donate, see the website: https://www.bcmhf.ca/