The void left from Vancouver Coastal Health's redistribution of youth counselling funds last year is being filled by two local counsellors.
Denise Evans and Dee Beveridge have created a new non-profit society called Squamish Counselling Services after being let go from their positions with Sea to Sky Community Services. They are now working as youth counsellors through Howe Sound Secondary School's reconnect alternate program (RAP).
"After we were laid off, we each started our own private counselling practices and what we found was that many people who wanted to access private counselling couldn't afford the fees," said Beveridge.
"And there's nowhere to refer them to because of the gaps in service - you either need to have a mental health diagnosis, a diagnosed addiction, or experience sexual abuse and violence to receive free mental health counselling.
"So there's only these two ends - either you pay the fees and receive the counselling or you get nothing."
Coming up to their one-year anniversary in January, Beveridge and Evans said their ultimate goal is to expand their services to the broader community, but the hardest part is locating funding.
"There's so many people that fall through the cracks here in Squamish," said Evans. "There are people out there who need to be able to see us and we need to develop the funding in order to see them."
This gap in subsidized counselling services determined their mandate - to offer good quality counselling to people in the community who otherwise couldn't afford full fees, which can range from $90 to $160 per session.
"We are currently exploring avenues for funding and hope to provide this service within the year," said Evans.
As November is addictions month, it's a good time to spread the word about the need for counselling services, she added.
"In the meantime, we are very glad to partner with the schools and help some of the students who were left without counselling resources from trained addictions clinicians - kids who otherwise wouldn't be receiving anything are getting this help now that is desperately needed."
Joel is one of the students who worked with Beveridge. He received counselling for almost two years.
After being kicked out of his family home in Ontario when he was 14 years because he was smoking pot and stealing, he ran away to Squamish where his sister lived.
Finding himself in a new school, a new town and a new province, he decided to try the school's drug and alcohol addiction counselling services and that's where he met Beveridge.
"I went and saw her for drugs while I was in school," he said. "But she didn't make it just about drugs, she became a person for me to talk to and she helped me get off the pot."
He said talking to Beveridge gave him an adult figure to talk to about overcoming his addiction and figuring out life in general.
Joel said life consumed by pot was "pretty bad."
"It was hard to wake up in the morning and I would forget things really easily."
He recommends counselling to anyone looking for a way out.
"It's a great opportunity and if you're honestly trying to change your life and get somewhere in life, then you definitely want to do it."
Joel just finished high school and is joining the military. He said he plans to become a counsellor or a social worker down the road.
Since Squamish Counselling Services was contracted to the alternate school in September 2010, Beveridge and Evans have had 19 student referrals and are seeing them regularly.
"It's not simply for addictions work," said Evans. "There's really a full gamut of problems and a lot of them are based on family difficulties."
Evans said Squamish Counselling Services is unique because it has no boundaries when it comes to counselling. As counsellors, they can meet with the youth and their families to resolve the issues.
"The kids have enormous problems that adults would have difficulty dealing, or not be able to deal, with," said Beveridge.
"Some of them have family origin problems such as abuse or substance addiction and there's lots of anxiety. Kids are often having to make really difficult decisions about where they want their lives to go and the barriers they have to overcome in order to do that."
Ideally, Squamish Counselling Services would be able to offer fully subsidized counselling sessions and Beveridge and Evans want to let the public know that every little bit helps.
Squamish Counselling Services is accepting donations to help extend their services. Interested donors can contact the non-profit society by email at [email protected]
"Every person who needs counselling and gets it matters," said Evans. "We know what a difference it can make to one person and the ripple effect it creates."
