Community Counselling Grants

This grant fund is closed and we are not accepting new applications. 

We are pleased to share Showing Up As Yourself: Impact Stories from the CAI Community Counselling Fund, a collection of stories from counsellors and people with lived experience over the past three and a half years. You can read and download the report here.


Background

Community Action Initiative, in partnership with the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions and the Ministry of Health, awarded 49 Community Counselling Grants to organizations across British Columbia. Projects took place from November 1, 2019 – October 31, 2022, with a renewal until March 31, 2023. The fund has been renewed, for existing grantee organizations only, for an additional two years to March 31, 2025.

Community Counselling Fund (Wave 1) 

This funding opportunity focused on community counselling for adults in relation to mental health and substance use, with the goal of reaching underserved or hard to reach populations that do not have access to counselling opportunities. Priority was given to proposals that demonstrated the ability to reach these populations through the application of an equity lens. Health equity, inclusive of mental health, exists when all people can reach their full health potential and are not disadvantaged from attaining it because of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, social class, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation or other socially determined circumstance. Non-government, not-for-profit, community-based organizations or First Nations, Metis or Urban Aboriginal organizations in British Columbia were invited to apply for up to $120,000 in annual funding, distributed over 3 years. 29 organizations were selected as recipients of this funding.

COVID-19 Surge Funding (Wave 2)

To ensure British Columbians had increased access to vital mental health and substance use supports during the COVID-19 pandemic, CAI awarded 20 one-time only $50,000 grants to organizations across the province to expand online and virtual mental health and substance use programming. This funding was not an open call, but rather, prioritized previously submitted applications to the Community Counselling Grant initiative at Community Action Initiative. Projects were extended until March 31, 2023 at $120,000 per grantee, per year.

Grant Funding Priorities

Grantees used funds to:

  • increase access to community-based counselling for improved mental health and substance use outcomes, with a focus on reaching individuals or families who are not likely to engage in mainstream services, or who would not typically have access to counselling opportunities
  • increase the quality of community-based counselling through the provision of necessary infrastructure to support non-profit, grassroots and/or volunteer-run programs.

‣ Click here to view Community Profiles by Health Region

Community Counselling Grant Recipients

  1. Association of Neighbourhood Houses BC
  2. Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre Society
  3. Carrier Sekani Family Services
  4. Central Interior Native Health Society
  5. Circle of Indigenous Nations Society
  6. Cythera Transition House Society
  7. DIVERSECity Community Resources Society
  8. Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre Society
  9. Fraser House Society
  10. Hiiye’yu Lelum (House of Friendship) Society
  11. Independent Living Vernon Society
  12. Jewish Family Services
  13. Kamloops Family Resources Society (Family Tree Family Centre)
  14. Kinghaven Peardonville House Society
  15. Kwakiutl Band Council – Health Centre
  16. Lillooet Friendship Centre Society
  17. Métis Community Services Society of BC
  18. Moving Forward Family Services Society
  19. Native Courtworker and Counselling Association of British Columbia
  20. PACE Society
  21. Peers Victoria Resources Society
  22. Quesnel Women’s Resource Centre
  23. RainCity Housing and Support Society
  24. Salt Spring and Southern Gulf Islands Community Services Society
  25. Turning Point Recovery Society
  26. Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture
  27. Vancouver Island Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees (VICCIR)
  28. Watari Counselling and Support Services
  29. Yale First Nation

COVID-19 Surge Fund Recipients

  1. Esquimalt Neighbourhood House (Greater Victoria)
  2. Pacific Centre Family Services Association (Colwood / Greater Victoria)
  3. Snuneymuxw First Nation (Nanaimo)
  4. Canadian Mental Health Association, North and West Vancouver
  5. Canadian Mental Health Association, Vancouver-Fraser
  6. Family Services of the North Shore
  7. REACH Community Health Centre (Vancouver)
  8. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. (Vancouver)
  9. Sunshine Coast Community Services Society
  10. Archway Community Services (Abbotsford)
  11. Deltassist Family and Community Services (Delta)
  12. Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Community Services
  13. Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver
  14. SHARE Family and Community Services (Coquitlam/Port Moody)
  15. OneSky Community Resources (Penticton)
  16. Canadian Mental Health Association – Kelowna
  17. Canadian Mental Health Association – Cariboo Chilcotin
  18. Yellowhead Community Services (Thompson Valley)
  19. Prince George Native Friendship Centre
  20. Canadian Mental Health Association – Prince George

Public Statement on Community Counselling Quality Enhancement Funds

BACKGROUND: $1,000,000 of the total $10M investment was earmarked for quality enhancement initiatives in years two and three. Quality enhancement funds 1) supported grantees to make one-time investments in quality enhancements for their counselling program, staff, and clients beyond the life of the grant; and 2) ensured funds were available to support sector-wide quality enhancement initiatives. Initiatives included micro-grants, the Support to Practice supervision training developed in collaboration with the Federation of Community Social Services of BC, a virtual teleconferencing platform developed with Metis Nation BC, and regular grantee network meetings.


Contact

Adrienne Yeung, Community Grants Manager
[email protected]