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A Way Forward podcast, presented by Beem Credit Union, examines the challenges that can wear down our individual and collective mental health. Host Jessica Samuels focusses on the stressors, the core issues and contributing factors, and the approaches and practices that can help address these issues. Listeners will leave feeling they have the information and tools to better manager their well-being and able to find...a way forward.
Hello. I'm Jessica Samuels, and welcome to A Way Forward, a podcast by Beem Credit Union. This podcast covers the mental health challenges that we all face each and every day and impact our broader community. Today's topic is youth mental health, and CMHA Kelowna CEO, Mike Gawliuk, joins me. On today's episode, we're starting with youth mental health and youth mental illness.
Jessica Samuels:Mike, this is a broad topic, one that impacts so many, but we actually wanted to kick off episode 1 with this topic for quite a few reasons. One of them, and I'm going to throw a stat right away, and I don't like to open with stats, but the reason that I'm doing that is because this has always been such an impactful stat to me. 75% of mental illnesses, so these are individuals who are struggling with mental illnesses, and it's kind of that broader, larger, topic than mental health, emerges before the age of 25. And interestingly enough, it's young people aged 12 to 25 who are not getting the help they need. This stat blows me away.
Jessica Samuels:This is something in your decades of working in this industry. This is something you know quite a lot about.
Mike Gawliuk:Yeah. I can certainly speak to a few of those decades and my path to CMHA. I spent the 1st 10 years of my career, working with young people. Mhmm. In particular young people at risk and and those on the streets, and in 2,000 and 13, I made a move over to CMHA and, I recognized a lot of people.
Mike Gawliuk:They were younger, when I knew them, in the youth world, and they were certainly, in a little better condition than I saw them at CMHA and right then and there it kinda hit me in the face that, what we're doing isn't working. And we need to spend more time, more attention, more energy, and ultimately more resources on young people, so that we can prevent, them from ending up in a situation like, the unfortunate situations I was seeing for some of the people that we were supporting here at CMHA.
Jessica Samuels:Mhmm. So you saw them when they were younger, then you saw them later at CMHA as adults. And you really notice that that change and and how they were managing
Mike Gawliuk:Yeah.
Jessica Samuels:Negative it was a negative change is what you're saying.
Mike Gawliuk:What I'm saying is they were, you know, they were struggling
Jessica Samuels:Yeah.
Mike Gawliuk:In terms of, managing their mental health. It was clear that that wasn't wasn't happening. And the the different scenarios from people that struggled to have a roof over their their head to those young people that I knew that maybe I knew them back when and they were employed. Now struggling so much that the idea or thought of a job just wasn't possible. And again, just makes you go.
Mike Gawliuk:What could we have done back then that might have made it a little bit better for them now?
Jessica Samuels:So are you going to go as far as saying that had we done something back then, gotten them the help they need a little earlier, they would not be in. Would they be fine? Would they not be struggling at all? Or it might just look differently?
Mike Gawliuk:I I mean, there's a huge argument for, early intervention and prevention and, certainly not having a crystal ball, not going to be able to say that this is exactly what would happen. But what is known and what is understood is that an investment in, prevention and early intervention allows for, young people to get diagnosed properly. It allows for them to start receiving, treatment sooner. It allows, for them to work forward and, address some of those issues that are ultimately there. Now that assumes that we have a functional and cohesive system of care that, provides the opportunities to do that.
Mike Gawliuk:But I would say ultimately, from my start in 2013 to where we are today, the world is far from perfect, but some of the initiatives that have happened in this organization and ultimately in this community are a nod to, you know, prevention and early intervention. So I would say absolutely, it would make a difference for those that I I saw, when I first came to the organization.
Jessica Samuels:Use the term investment in care and and what I'm hearing that is is dollars, people, programs. This is a this is a tough nut to crack. You mentioned the health care system that it's no secret. And I think a lot of folks, whether you're in this sector or they're not in this sector, would recognize it is far from perfect. So this is a big ask.
Mike Gawliuk:Well, I think it's a big ask, but I think, you know, I think we're really good at. Spending money to address emergencies. When we could have an opportunity to spend money to prevent that emergency from happening in the first place. And that's really the idea behind prevention. Yes, it's a big ask, but ultimately as we look at what's going on you know across our province across our country and the struggles that we're having currently.
Mike Gawliuk:I would suggest that what do they say about a little bit of prevention is where the pound of cure. I would suggest that that investment is absolutely necessary at this point in time to to prevent future generations from ending up in the spot where we're in now. And it's not an either it's it's not an either or it's an all land. The reality is we need resources. We need the people to ultimately do the work and we need to make the investment so that we're not seeing the next generation of unhoused adults, on the rail trail.
Mike Gawliuk:So that we're seeing people that, are successfully, finding and keeping a job. And for those that are part of our social fabric and have the connection, like, it's absolutely essential and necessary.
Jessica Samuels:You know, that those terms early intervention and prevention, they're they're common in in the medical, so health care, mental health care, it's the same system. What strikes me is is is if we take a look at kind of more that that, medical physical health, just to kind of draw that line between the two right now, Early intervention looks like something very specific. You have a lump, you have a crack, you have symptoms, it means XYZ. What's interesting to me about this, and I have to wonder if there's folks out there, caregivers, parents, saying, Okay, how how do we know when to intervene early when it comes to things like mental health, but youth mental health. And so it leads me to the next question is is I keep thinking of, like, this teen angst.
Jessica Samuels:Like, is is that a real consideration? Is is is or is that just being flippant about the struggles that young people are are facing?
Mike Gawliuk:Well, I think, you know, in terms of identifying what, what differentiates teen angst from something that could be more serious and require some form of intervention is really taking a look at the impact and and any changes in that young person's life. Right? Whether that's a change in relationships, whether that's a change in things like sleeping patterns, you know, eating patterns like significant changes that are different than, and and that they would they would normally see. Those are things that tell you that maybe it's time to take a closer look. What I would say to those parents and caregivers as well as through it you may not know.
Mike Gawliuk:What I would encourage is continue to have a relationship with your child, be supportive, engage, like you normally would. Let them know that you care about them and that you're there for them. And if you're really curious or really concerned or starting to worry about some of those changes that you're seeing, that's when you might reach out to a place like Foundry and ask to speak with one of our family navigators to just really, talk about what's happening. They can help to give some perspective. They might be able to give you a little bit more information on other things to look for and questions to ask.
Mike Gawliuk:They may also talk to the parent or caregiver about how they're taking care of themselves. Because oftentimes, you know, when when it's your child or someone that you love, and you see them struggling, that takes a significant toll on people emotionally. And part of the work and part of the the focus of, you know, parents and caregivers is taking care of themselves in the face of these sometimes really uncomfortable, scary times in order that they can be the best support that they can be as well.
Jessica Samuels:We're going to talk about some of those programs. We're going to talk about foundry and and the resources, not only through CMHA, Kelowna, but across the province, foundry being one of them. I'm going to just go back as well. And I wanna ask, how tough question. How is life impacting youth?
Jessica Samuels:So when I think back in the day when I was a young, and and and also to qualify, in this instance, youth is 12 to 25. This is the reference that we're making for purposes of this conversation. How many times, I don't know if you're like me, how grateful I am that we did not have social media. Like, you know, I just had to rely on my parents' and my friends' memory and that's it. So, and I don't wanna demonize a single thing as the single problem, but what impact is the world having on, amplifying that teen angst amplifying the the negative teen or youth mental health?
Mike Gawliuk:Yeah. Well, I think overall right now, the world's in a really concerning place And I think, there's so many different factors that are over overlapping and intersecting that are, you know, causing anxiety and and that angst you speak to certainly social media. You know the world's a whole lot faster now than it was back when we were younger because it wasn't just right in front of us what was going on in the world. You know the issues that come with technology and social media like cyberbullying, that becomes a huge issue. The whole reality of like social media and personal image, right?
Mike Gawliuk:And how that can influence things. I think it it I think it plays a significant role and and I think you know, certainly as I've seen in our school district in terms of having, technology in the classroom, there's been some limits that have been put on that. And ultimately, I think that speaks to the reality that, technology and ultimately social media is one of the factors that is impacting young people. I think there's many others that are at play as well.
Jessica Samuels:Climate, harder to get ahead. You know, you think about the things, you know, things that I struggled with when I was coming up. I was like, if I am I ever going to own a home? Mhmm. Because that was a benchmark.
Jessica Samuels:I wonder is that even a benchmark for young people now because it doesn't matter or because it's just not attainable? I mean, housing affordability is another topic for another episode. But also those those just yeah. How hard it is to get ahead.
Mike Gawliuk:For sure. I mean, I have a I have a 22 year old, and I can tell you the conversations that we have about the chance of him having a home. It's not very, it's not very optimistic. Right? Like, and the ability to, just be able to afford to live is is such an impact that causes causes stress and causes anxiety.
Mike Gawliuk:There's no doubt that that that plays on on on things and impacts young people's concerns. You know again we're also in a climate emergency. That is another factor that, young people, think about on their minds and it's something that again you feel like you you don't have a whole lot of control over, but certainly can cause, angst, worry, concern, no doubt about
Jessica Samuels:that. Something that you and I have talked about in the past, something that we can examine as well is the impact of the pandemic. Now, I'm not someone who would like to, years decades later, like to blame all of the ills on the world of the world on the pandemic. I think there's also a danger of underestimating the impact on ourselves as adults, but certainly some really formative for young people during some really formative times in their lives. And so talk about that, about that, the kind of the isolation piece, being a young person.
Jessica Samuels:I mean, I lived in it's my own experience. Right? So I'm just talking about myself. I lived and died, but which friends I was going to see at school that day and kind of that connection and tell them that story. And there was a significant chunk of time where that just was not a fact of life.
Mike Gawliuk:Yeah. Well, and I think it ties into what we spoke about earlier as far as, technology. Right? Right. The connection became virtual.
Mike Gawliuk:You weren't necessarily going to be able to to spend time at school and spend time with your friends. Some of the things that you might do on it on a daily basis. So it absolutely changed, how things how things worked, how it looked, and how interaction, took place. No doubt about that.
Jessica Samuels:And still does as we move forward.
Mike Gawliuk:Sure.
Jessica Samuels:Like, I think I wonder if there's this idea and and and again, you know, I feel like I have it for myself in my own life. Well, oh my gosh. You know, it's it's this date, we're so far out of aren't we over it yet? Can't we just get over it?
Mike Gawliuk:You know, it feels like that was the start of many things that followed. Right? And to talk, you know, again like where we're at in the world right now and all these things that we're struggling with from, you know, the money to, you know, the drug poisoning crisis to all the rest of these issues. It just felt like that was the thing that sort of just kicked it off and, it's just sort of been going from here and on and on and on and there hasn't really been a significant reprieve along the way, I guess, is is how I would look at it.
Jessica Samuels:Mhmm. Right. Okay. So youth are struggling. Young people are struggling.
Jessica Samuels:The state of of youth mental health is is not good, not only here in our community, but I think we can say more broadly across the province and and elsewhere. Let's talk about some of the things that those early intervention prevention pieces, some of those things that, are helping to address it. You referenced earlier Foundry. So Foundry is actually, its own entity. It's it's I I would say it's its own thing.
Jessica Samuels:So it's its own program, across the province
Mike Gawliuk:Yep.
Jessica Samuels:And, numerous communities. Kelowna was the benefit in CMHA. Kelowna was the benefit of being the proof of concept. So one of the first of a few. Can you talk a little bit about broader foundry?
Jessica Samuels:And then, we're we're gonna get back to some of those pieces about the programs that Foundry has specific to the topics we're talking about.
Mike Gawliuk:For sure. I I mean, I guess we were, in some ways fortunate to be one of the early adopters in the sense that we were, I believe, the second, foundry to open up in the province. What comes with that is a lot of learning. We're now, like, 7 years down the road. The world looks a whole lot different than it did then.
Mike Gawliuk:Right? Mhmm. I think foundry as a concept, certainly foundry as an initiative, has has I mean, we're going to be at a place where there's going to be, over 30 of these, across British Columbia.
Jessica Samuels:Right. Because the idea is that a young person should be able to go to a community anywhere and say, point me in the direction of a foundry.
Mike Gawliuk:That that was the original concept that there would be a foundry in every community and a young person who needed help could walk in and and start their journey there. Full credit to Steve Mathias, really the the godfather of foundry. And, his his influence has been significant. You know, last year when the federal government was doing the agreement with the province around health care transfers, there was 3 outcomes that were identified in that. And one of those outcomes was specifically foundry and the number of foundries that would be open by a certain date that was signed into that federal agreement.
Mike Gawliuk:That speaks, speaks volumes. The other thing that foundry has added to the mix which makes, it accessible to, young people from across the the province, is foundry virtual. And so anybody that has access to technology can, go online, hit the Foundry app and get access to various services, Foundry services even if they don't live in a community that has a Foundry.
Jessica Samuels:That's so interesting in this instance that Foundry Virtual is a resource as a supportive piece. And earlier, we were talking about the role that technology plays. And that's why, you know, we didn't wanna necessarily demonize technology, writ large. There's a way because frankly, you know, access a physical building, a physical place boundary. And then also, we outside can be a scary place or walking into a building and and seeing somebody and saying I need help.
Jessica Samuels:I mean, the the the amount of anxiety or stress that that can bring up on an individual or young person and that's a gap that found you virtual can can help fill.
Mike Gawliuk:Can help fill and and it's real. You know because we've been around for a while now and the world looks different and there's a number of other services and things that exist in in our community that didn't didn't before. Plus it's kind of like a different generation. Like 7 years ago, a 12 year old was 5. They wouldn't they wouldn't be they wouldn't know about Foundry.
Mike Gawliuk:They wouldn't be able to access that. We've recently gone out and done some youth engagement, specifically out in West Kelowna because we're expanding our services out there. Young people have told us, in terms of the things that they need in order to feel comfortable, There is a certain level of fear that exists when you decide that it's time to, you know, go and have a conversation. They've told us that to to be more comfortable, for us to have staff that are out in the community to do things like have barbecues, maybe have an ambassador team that goes out that makes them aware of what Foundry is and helps to set the stage to build a little bit more knowledge, a little bit more relationships. So when the time comes and they say, I need to go talk to somebody, they're going to be feel a little bit more comfortable about walking into or or if it's West Kelowna, potentially onto our Wellness on Wheels clinic.
Jessica Samuels:Which is the mobile unit that's been running for a few years. Yeah. And really was meant to do that bridge that gap, giving young people in West Kelowna and and West Bank First Nation access to services that, they wouldn't have, meeting them where they're at, which is also another foundational element of Foundry. Yeah.
Mike Gawliuk:I think wellness on wheels is kind of the space in between the Foundry Kelowna Clinic and Foundry Virtual. Mhmm. And and it's been a it's been an interesting experiment as well, but certainly what we've identified is the ability to make connections and build partnerships with the groups that, we hadn't before. I mean, it was just last week that we partnered, with WFN, to host a session at WFN around, suicide specifically. So the presence of foundry wow, being invited in, has has made all the difference in the world.
Jessica Samuels:And that's years in the making. You can't just show up and expect folks to come if it's your first time. And that's and that's really, again, meeting people where they're at. Also meeting them where they're at. Talk a little bit about the role of of peer support.
Jessica Samuels:In this instance, peer support in the in the world of of, you know, well-being and wellness and mental health is is not a new concept, but really is impactful particularly when it comes to young people getting the help they need.
Mike Gawliuk:Yeah. I mean, fortunate. We're very fortunate at Foundry to have, funding to support, peer supporters who are our young people that have had lived experience of mental illness or substance use. There's a full training program that foundry has created that provides those young people with the skills, the knowledge they need and then they're supervised through our foundry staff team and ultimately to provide 1 to 1 support to other young people. I think and I know certainly, hearing people talk about that service and and over the course of time, having somebody who has been there, who has experienced that, it's just, it's that sense of they get it.
Mike Gawliuk:Mhmm. It might, ultimately open up doors that weren't necessarily going to be opened. And, and and and it's really interesting to see because, you know, it starts with a one to one relationship and then, we look at building things out. And so there's peer groups at Foundry where young people get get together and whether it's around skill building or just social connection. Young people that that have that lived experience are really kinda like the the catalyst and are helping to move that along.
Mike Gawliuk:And and I know as we look at and this is one of the conversations with Foundry Central when we look at the workforce. So we talk about the need for increased investment in, you prevention early intervention there becomes a question is when you say when that investment happens you're going to need people who can then work in the field and a peer role at Foundry in terms of the workforce and getting into the mental health field is a great first step. So it serves, certainly serves young people that come in the door looking for support, but it's certainly an opportunity for young people too from a educational and employment perspective, to get some really, really good training and experience.
Jessica Samuels:Mhmm. Right. And when you mentioned earlier about foundries for young people, but we were talking about when do parents and caregivers know when to seek help or to to kind of activate that those conversations with with a young person. That's also part of what Foundry does. So it's it's recognizing that sometimes to provide the best help to the young person.
Jessica Samuels:It also means providing for the caregivers and and we use caregivers because we recognize that that parents is not all we it's it doesn't apply to all situations, necessarily their parents in in in the traditional sense. So you support parents and caregivers through programs. For sure. We have we have specific staff,
Mike Gawliuk:family navigation and family support staff that can work with, caregivers 1 on 1 to get a better understanding of what's happening for them. That can then mean that they attend a group at foundry or they get connected to group groups in the community. We're not the only game in town nor do we, propose to be or want to be. There's other organizations that are doing really good work and so to make those connections is a big part of, of that work there. It could mean referring, the caregiver on to counseling.
Mike Gawliuk:We're fortunate that we are able to provide, virtual counseling for adults, including, you know, adults 25 plus couples and caregivers who may need a little extra support in in their circumstances. So and we were actually when when I think back to Foundry, we were one of the first five. Foundry itself actually got its start out of the Granville Youth Health Centre in Vancouver, and it was very focused on youth who were experiencing homelessness. So when it was set up, it was set up to support those young people and families weren't really considered part of that. And when we opened up Foundry, we certainly pushed and continue to push Foundry Central that young people come with parents, caregivers, family members.
Mike Gawliuk:And in order to be effective in treating what's taking place, you have to ensure that there's resources available for them as well. And so we are one of the first to to really push that forward and to, you know, say this is this is an important piece of this. Mhmm. In addition, I, you know, what's going on at Foundry? One of the things that we've launched and this has been over the course of the last year and and I think this program holds a lot of potential and I think it signals a way of doing things that really could influence how help is is provided, not only in this community, but, you in various circumstances.
Mike Gawliuk:So, the program is called Family and Natural Supports, FNS. And, it's focuses on young people who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness. And, the family and natural supports piece, makes sense. When you think about it in your world, if you're struggling with something, who's the first person that you're gonna turn to? For some young people, especially young people that are in the system.
Mike Gawliuk:The first person they're going to turn to is what I refer to as a paid friend. It's someone that works for an organization. They're there to do their job and by all means the support they provide is important. But when I think about I'm struggling with a scenario and who do I reach out to first and we joked about this earlier? Yeah.
Mike Gawliuk:I have a therapist on on call. They're not always the first person I reach out to. I've got I've got friends. I've got people that care about me and, and, and connection is so important. So with family and natural supports, with that group, what we're really trying to do is help those young people to build those kinds of connections.
Mike Gawliuk:In some cases, it's to reconnect with family. So we have had a couple of situations where young people who have, been from other communities have come to Kelowna and, experienced homelessness and have been estranged from their their families for the better part of 3 or 4 years. I can thank one, young person from Victoria. And our FNS, team started to work with them and through the process started to engage with the family. And it was a slow process.
Mike Gawliuk:Like, that was a good 6 months in the making, just slowly starting the conversation process because again, it had been strained to the point where that young person was was without a home. The really cool outcome of it was last year, for the first time in 3 years, that young person got to go home to Victoria and spend Christmas with their family.
Jessica Samuels:Wow.
Mike Gawliuk:And to me, that is huge. Yeah. And when I think about connection, and I think about, you know, again, some of the issues that we're experiencing our world right now, one of the things that anybody can do is build a relationship. And the importance of natural connection whether that's through a friends, a mentor, or through family, that can be the thing that makes makes all the difference in the world. And, so, we're really focusing on this approach.
Mike Gawliuk:We're looking at how, it's it's impacting young people and and where we can reduce the reliance on paid friends and help young people to build those natural connections that they'll use now and when they're 2530 and so on.
Jessica Samuels:Right. You know, and we're going to talk about, some of the other organizations that are doing work that you do. I'd reference in that last response to that last comment. And I do want to remind folks that there are foundries all across the province. You know, foundries, though, the website, and and you can take a look in the the show notes to find links to some of these, and you can see the communities that they're in.
Jessica Samuels:I guess before folks do that, they might want to say, okay, so you've just told a story, you know, wonderful story. You've been doing this for 7 years. Gotta have some some data. You gotta have some information, foundries, you know, there's a process right? You're right and kind of it's like data informed.
Jessica Samuels:Yeah. How do we know this is working?
Mike Gawliuk:Well one of the ways we know that it's working is that young people are accessing the service. So when we look at from the start to now the number of young people that have walked through our doors is significant. On average we see roughly. 1800 youth individual youth who come visit foundry each year. We also know when it's effective because young people tell us.
Mike Gawliuk:You know sometimes through surveys and I talked to some staff just yesterday it's through you know the staff here. They're awesome or they're super cool or they really helped me. And then there's there's the there's the stories, and there's a couple that stand out for me and and this was early days, when we first opened and, our original manager Melissa who was just fantastic at greeting people as they came in and, had worked with youth, throughout her her life. This one young, young one man one easy for me to say. A young man who had been involved in several services and it never it never really stuck.
Mike Gawliuk:Like, we'd go for one appointment and then that would be it and then move to something else and it wouldn't work. And I remember Melissa telling the story of how this this young man came into Foundry and we had apples at the front and so she offered this young man an apple and and lo and behold he came back and he got connected in with some other services and he became connected to foundry and you know sought counseling and sought some other assistance And when Melissa said, what made you come back? He said, you gave me an apple. And what that meant was you treated me like a human being. I had gone to these other places before where I was basically just sort of looked at sideways.
Mike Gawliuk:I wasn't welcomed, and you welcomed me in and that made all the difference in the world. That was huge. Another story that I can tell and this is sort of where that idea of having different services working together come in handy is a young person who moved up here from Vancouver walked in our door. They had had substance use concerns, had recently gone off of their medication and relapsed, which meant that they also then, lost their job. And so when they walked in the door at Foundry, it was initially you see a doctor to talk about getting back on their medication, which they were able to do.
Mike Gawliuk:But the cool thing about it is when they come in and they do their assessment, it flags other issues. So it was a way it was clear that there was other things going on. While this young person was paying their rent, they were out of a job, so they weren't gonna be able to pay their rent much longer. Fortunately, we have support from BC Housing and we're able to equip that young person with a rent supplement that kept the roof over the head that they have. Then, because we were working closely with employment providers in town, the why was part of what was going on at Foundry and the young person was able to get connected up with the why which got them back on the path of getting employed.
Mike Gawliuk:And then finally, we were able to attach them to Interior Health who offer substance use services out of Foundry, so that they could, they could work on those specific issues that caused them to to, you know, go back to using. And so through one door, they were able to access all those services and had that not existed they may have saw a doctor, they may have been able to see like a youth worker, but they wouldn't have been able to get the different services wrapped into one that they did. And so not only did we help them stabilize from their medication standpoint, but we kept them housed and we supported them in in getting getting employed again and that's significant and that's one of many stories that demonstrate the success. We're not perfect and we certainly have stories where things haven't worked out the way that we would hope. What I can say though our commitment to the community has been and continues to be that we grow and we work and we partner to provide the best service that we can and that we listen to young people, around what they need, so that those needs can be met.
Jessica Samuels:Right. And you touched upon it there. And in that last story, there's a few organizations that you connected with that are connected through Foundry, but then also are doing wonderful work when it comes to youth mental health in our community, whether or not they're connected with family Foundry. So Foundry is a resource. What are some other community resources, where, are are really in this space, and helping young people as they navigate these challenges?
Mike Gawliuk:Yeah. I think there's a there's a few different, like programs or or groups that are taking place. So, one that I would mention is the family connection center, which is similar to Foundry. It's focused on, you know, families, parents and in particular young people that may have, special needs developmental disabilities. It's, ran by ARC programs, but certainly have a number of other providers that are attached to that.
Mike Gawliuk:It's it's a great resource for families who need it. I think of programs like, and we're a partner in this upstream through BGC. And, that's in school early intervention program, whereby young people do a survey. And, it's a survey to assess risk for potential future homelessness and then they're connected up with different resources in the community, different partner groups and it's demonstrated. It's shown itself to be quite successful.
Mike Gawliuk:You know, I think about the Bridge Youth and Family Services and their youth recovery house and certainly, it was just in the media in the last couple of days. They're going forward with an expansion of that and when we look at substance use and we look at what's happening again in communities across our province and our country, organizations like the bridge and that type of service is so necessary in terms of supporting young people. So those are just three examples of, organizations and initiatives that are quite successful, in this community. There's one thing that kind of unites all of this is that the organizations and the programs, there's partnerships that are are are involved and there's organizations that are working together. And to me, that's always a key to, being able to provide something bigger than your organization could on its own when you work as a collective.
Jessica Samuels:Right. I think it's important to note that foundries across the province and here in Kelowna are also working with with the school districts because that's another avenue when you think about where young people are seeking help and support, and and sometimes getting to school is easier.
Mike Gawliuk:Yep.
Jessica Samuels:And and so if those supports can be there.
Mike Gawliuk:Yeah. We, a couple of years ago, were fortunate and, we have counselors, in all the middle schools across the school district. I know that our programs offers mental health and substance use counseling for high schools and, I think there's some elementary school work that they do well as well. We've got a really strong relationship with the school district that allowed that that to happen, and they've been a fantastic partner right from day 1. Not only from the standpoint of, you know, resourcing young people who were, in need, but also opening up the doors to young people when foundry first started.
Mike Gawliuk:And, and and so we value that, that partnership. It's been one of those we talk about super partners. They've been one of our super partners across, the time the foundry has been operational.
Jessica Samuels:Okay. Lots of good resources there. Thanks, Mike.
Mike Gawliuk:Thank you.
Jessica Samuels:Beem Credit Union is proud to be a part of communities all across BC with over 50 branches and insurance offices dedicated to supporting your financial journey. Beam understands financial wellness means something different to everyone, and they're here to help you achieve your unique goals. Whether you're saving for the future, planning your next big step or just looking for peace of mind, Beam Credit Union is by your side. GFCU Savings, Gulf and Fraser, Interior Savings and North Peace Savings are trade names of Beem Credit Union.