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Services We Offer

While we offer many services at Foundry Victoria, we know that we can't meet every need, so it's important that we work alongside other services in our community to help you connect with the right people and programs. We can help you better navigate services and systems geared to youth and families in our community.

Our team works together between different disciplines and different agencies (doctors, nurses, outreach workers, social workers, counsellors, peer support workers, family support workers and psychiatry) to help support you.

It also means we work closely with you and your family to help you make your own health care decisions and be involved in your care plan.

Examples of Services

We’ve developed a suite of programs to match many of the critical stages in the lives of youth.

Primary Care • Mental Health • Youth Peer Support • Specialized Services

Primary Care 

We offer both in person and virtual appointments with Doctors, Nurse Practitioners, Registered Nurses, and Indigenous Midwives. Our Primary Care Team may be able to help if you’re looking for support with:

Note: Our Doctors and Nurse Practitioners have a limited capacity to take on clients for ongoing care. Eligibility is determined by an evolving set of criteria. However, one of our Registered Nurses may still be able to provide you with the care you need even if you don’t meet the criteria for attachment to a Doctor or Nurse Practitioner. If you are looking for health care please contact our front desk for more information.

If it is your first time here for mental health or substance use, we may book you an appointment with a counsellor, a social worker, or a nurse for an intake appointment.

An intake appointment is a chance for us to get to know you a bit, gather information about different aspects of your life and work with you to create a plan that will work for you. The care plan might include support at Foundry Victoria, but it might also include accessing services and supports from our partners in the community.

Substance Use

Everyone has their own relationship with substance uses and has their reasons for using them. People have used substances for thousands of years. Substance use can be part of a healthy, rewarding life, however using any substances also comes with risks and things to consider. We can help you understand how to manage use, learn how to reduce possible harms, and empower you to make decisions that are right for you.

Mental Health 

Counselling 

Notice: As of April 2024, access to same-day counselling sessions has been paused. CLICK HERE for more information.

We recognize that your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Our counselling team can work with you to address the challenges you are facing.  Our counsellors use a solution-focused approach to counselling, called Solution Focused Brief Therapy.  Some of the things people talk to counsellors about include feelings of sadness or depression, anxiety, substance use, family conflict, healthy relationships, school,  stress, sex, sexuality, or anything else that is important to you.  Our counsellors will guide you through the process and work collaboratively with you to come up with some experiments, skills for coping, or insights to take away.

We offer same-day counselling appointments. There are no fees for counselling at Foundry Victoria, just like all of our other services. If, after your appointment, your counsellor feels like you may benefit from follow-up counselling they will chat to you about options at Foundry Victoria or elsewhere in our community.

If it is your first time here for mental health or substance use, we may book you an appointment with a counsellor, a social worker, or a nurse for an intake appointment.

An intake appointment is a chance for us to get to know you a bit, gather information about different aspects of your life and work with you to create a plan that will work for you. The care plan might include support at Foundry Victoria, but it might also include accessing services and supports from our partners in the community.

Expressive Arts Therapy 

NOTICE: As of March 2024, Expressive Arts Therapy services have been paused. Contact our front desk to learn more about what other options may be available.

Expressive arts therapy sessions are offered to youth who are interested in exploring their world imaginatively by shaping it through the arts. This can include visual art, movement, sound, drama and writing.  Expressive arts therapy is a somatic, play and sensory-based approach that encourages being process-oriented and mindful in the here and now.  No art background is necessary, just a sense of curiosity. Discover what unfolds when you follow your creative flow.

This is only available via internal referrals.

If it is your first time here for mental health or substance use, we may book you an appointment with a counsellor, a social worker, or a nurse for an intake appointment.

An intake appointment is a chance for us to get to know you a bit, gather information about different aspects of your life and work with you to create a plan that will work for you. The care plan might include support at Foundry Victoria, but it might also include accessing services and supports from our partners in the community.

Youth Peer Support 

Often the easiest people to talk to are people who have already been through what you’re going through. Peer support is based on the belief that those who have experienced challenges can provide support, encouragement, hope and mentorship to others facing similar situations, encouraging them to continue their healing. At Foundry Victoria we have a large team of Peer Support Workers, including both Youth Peer Support and Family Peer Support. The team works together with the rest of our care providers to enhance and support your care.

A Peer Support Worker can:

  • Offer non-judgmental support and understanding

  • Help with navigating the healthcare system

  • Connect you with resources both at Foundry Victoria and in the community

  • Attend appointments with you

  • Help you advocate for your needs

  • Lead groups and group activities

Specialized Services

Foundry Work & Education

Working, going to school, or being part of a training program can help to improve our health and wellbeing. Sometimes it can be hard to do these things on our own. Foundry's Work & Education Program aims to help increase the health and wellness of youth by supporting them in doing the things that they want to do.

Foundry Work & Education is a free supported employment and education program designed to help if you are interested in working, going to school, or completing a training program. Foundry Work & Education helps you build the skills and experiences you need to achieve your goals.

Eligible youth in the Greater Victoria Area who :

  • Between the ages of 15-24 and experiencing multiple barriers to work, school, or training.

  • Interested in working, going to school, or starting a training program.

  • Not currently working, training, in school, or in an employment program, or people working or in school under 15 hours per week; however, exceptions on a case by case basis exist for those at risk of losing their employment or dropping out of school.

  • Legally entitled to work in BC.

For more information please contact us.

Indigenous Midwifery

Indigenous midwifery is open to everyone. We offer services for reproductive & sexual health, pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting so you and your family feel safe, respected, and supported. We use an approach that focuses on all aspects of your wellbeing: emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally. We build relationships with you, share information and support your choices.

Within our Foundry care team we currently provide the following essential services:

  • abortion (medication abortion) including the follow-up 

  • emergency contraception 

  • pregnancy and birth control counselling/information 

  • birth control (including pill prescription, IUD/Implant insertions and follow-up) 

  • STI checks and treatment 

  • Pap test

  • miscarriage support

  • infant feeding support

  • prenatal care

  • labour and birth care

  • care after the birth

  • newborn care

  • Vaccination

  • health system navigation

For more information please contact us.

Gender Affirming Care

Foundry Victoria provides specialised social and medical gender affirming care for trans, non-binary, two-spirit, and gender diverse individuals. We know that every individual will have different needs and goals for their transition. Our team members can help you navigate the medical, legal, and social processes to achieve those goals. Our support can include meetings with a peer support worker, hormone replacement therapy, counselling, binder fittings, and referrals to other services and providers in the community.

For your first appointment with us you may have an appointment booked with one of our Registered Nurses, who will get to know you, your journey, and your goals and work with you to create a care plan.

Please contact us for more information.

Victoria Period Project

The Victoria Period Project was started by two of our young people in 2017. Seeing a need for reliable access to menstrual products, they set out to  work with community organisations to improve  access to menstrual products, and to address the stigma around periods. 

Each monthly pack includes a variety of menstrual products of the person's choosing, as well as a snack and a small self-care gift. We hope to reverse the harmful effects of period stigma by incorporating self-care and body positive goodies into every pack. We continue to encourage every person to see their menstruation as a celebration of their bodies, rather than something to be ashamed of.

Currently, Victoria Period Project is proudly partnered  with Sanctuary Youth Center, Pandora Youth Apartments, MCFD, Quadra Village Community Center, Island Health's YT5 team, Joni, and the Victoria Bay Center.

This service is intended for those who cannot afford or safely access menstrual products.

Family Services

YOU ARE NOT ALONE - WE ARE GLAD YOU ARE HERE.

We are here to support you, where you are at, in being the best you can be for yourself and your family. When a young person lives with mental health or substance use challenges, it impacts the entire family. Families and caregivers can often find themselves feeling isolated and overwhelmed. At Foundry Victoria, caregivers can find services and connections — for a young person in their lives or for themselves.

Foundry team members:

  • Offer HOPE and are here to answer your questions

  • Can help find solutions to your challenges

  • Can connect you to available, free, safe, welcoming and confidential health and social services, programs and resources

Our family peer support worker offers one on one support with a parent or caregiver who has the lived experience of supporting young people with mental and health and substance use challenges, family education workshops, and caregiver support and education groups.

At Foundry, family is defined uniquely by each young person and can include anyone supporting or advocating for their wellness. Family, whether by birth, choice, or circumstance, holds a significant role in supporting a young person by fostering a sense of belonging and hope through their shared experience.

Need Help?

Not sure where to start or what services might be right for you? We’re here to help! Reach out to our Front Desk and we’ll make sure you get connected with the right resources.

Support Youth

You can make the difference in the life of youth in your community! Apply for more information on any of our programs above and a team member will be in contact with you!

“An investment in our youth is an investment in human potential”

— Victoria Youth Clinic Supporter