B.C. schools receive $2-million cash boost to promote mental health

Schools in British Columbia are getting an extra $2 million for mental health programs from the provincial government.

Judy Darcy, the minister of mental health and addictions, said the province is spending more on mental health programs this year because children are facing an unprecedented return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of $3.75 million will be spent in the 2020-21 school year to form integrated child and youth teams to promote mental wellness and provide additional support for students, families and educators, Darcy told a news conference Wednesday.

School districts will determine how the funds are used based on their needs.

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Darcy said she’s heard from families and teachers that they are going through a “roller coaster of emotions” as schools are set to reopen next week.

“Some people are grappling with high levels of anxiety and stress about the return to school, and others, frankly, are feeling a sense of relief after months of uncertainty.”

In other news, the provincial government also announced that better, seamless mental health and substance-use care will be available for children in three more school districts.

The three school districts are Coast Mountains School District 82, Richmond School District 38 and Okanagan Similkameen School District 53.

“For too long, young people and their families have had to knock on one door after another to access the mental health and substance use services they need,” Judy Darcy, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, said in a press release.

“These integrated child and youth teams will ensure help is available when and where it’s needed, so that children and youth are able to not just survive – but thrive.”

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The province says the integrated child and youth teams work to fill in gaps in the current system of mental health and substance-use care.

Teams were announced for Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows and the Comox Valley last year, but those have yet to be established.

The government said in a news release that surveys have shown the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in mental health and substance-use challenges.

It said there are a number of free and inexpensive counselling services that are available online, by video and by phone.