Whereas youth in rural and remote British Columbia are facing mental health and wellness challenges just like their peers in urban centers; And whereas Foundry BC in-person Centers are largely located in urban British Columbia and not accessible for youth in rural and remote BC communities: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM lobby the provincial government to commit to establishing in-person Foundry Centres that meet the needs of rural and remote youth in their home communities, recognizing the unique challenges of youth living in rural and remote communities.
Ministry of Health In Foundrys most recent expansion process, the Province announced in September 2023 that Foundry would be accepting applications from communities across BC interested in establishing a Foundry centre in their local community, catchment area, or region, with the goal of identifying the next ten Foundry centre communities. All non-profit, health and social service organizations and agencies serving youth, including health authorities and First Nations, Mtis, and Urban Indigenous service providers, were eligible and encouraged to apply. Organizations and agencies seeking to host a Foundry centre in their community attended webinar information sessions prior to submitting their applications. These sessions included information specifically for rural and remote locations, highlighting the strengths of collaboration in smaller communities. The application review period took place from November 2023 to January 2024. This period included a review to confirm, for example, each prospective lead agencys capacity to host a Foundry centre, as well as conversations with key partners such as youth and family advisors, among others. Foundry also held many follow-up meetings with partners and other relevant organizations to gather additional information about community needs and local priorities. Important considerations in this process were engaging with diverse youth and family voices as well as ensuring equity in geographic location to address service access barriers, particularly in rural and remote settings. In every phase of expansion, Foundry has aimed to select communities across all five regional health authorities to promote broader access and currently has centres open in each regional health authority. Although not all interested communities could be supported with a centre in this expansion phase, Foundry remains committed to supporting youth in rural and remote areas. Foundry centres are operating in many small and rural communities across BC including Terrace, Campbell River, East Kootenay Cranbrook, Port Hardy, Comox, Squamish, Williams Lake Cariboo-Chilcotin, Penticton, and Burns Lake. New Foundry centres are in-development in Fort St. John, Vanderhoof, Quesnel, Port Alberni, Kootenay-Boundary and qathet Powell River. Foundry also continues to build partnerships with Indigenous-led organizations. Foundry currently has two Indigenous-led centres Foundry East Kootenay, which opened in Cranbrook in May 2024, and Foundry Burns Lake, which opened in October 2025. Building on this work, the Province recently announced the establishment of five new Foundry satellite services in Port McNeill, Pemberton, West Kelowna, 100 Mile House and Summerland. These satellite services will extend the reach of existing Foundry centres and help bring integrated youth mental health and wellness supports closer to home for young people in rural and remote communities. Foundry Virtual BC offers province-wide access, ensuring youth in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities can connect to Foundry regardless of their location. Foundry continues to explore new approaches to service delivery across the province, including targeted promotion, outreach and relationship building with rural and remote communities, as well as pilot initiatives designed to strengthen youth engagement and service uptake, including community development resources, and a rural and remote community of practice, among others. Foundry remains committed to ensuring that integrated youth services are available across BC and accessible to youth in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities.