Vulnerable youth, Indigenous communities and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals on southern Vancouver Island will have enhanced supports from the Pacific Centre Family Services Association with new funding from the Province.

“Hard-working individuals, non-profit organizations and other community partners are allies in our government’s work to keep our most-vulnerable people safe in British Columbia,” said Grace Lore, MLA for Victoria-Beacon Hill. “Supporting community-safety and crime-prevention programs are top priorities for our government. We are committed to creating a province where families and youth have the services they need to escape from challenging and violent situations.”

Government is providing a one-time investment of $130,000 to the Pacific Centre Family Services Association (PCFSA) to expand its Crime Reduction and Exploitation Diversion (CRED) and the Mobile Youth Service Team (MYST) programs. The funding will be used to increase staff and resourcing for CRED and MYST street teams to support the crucial work they do to ensure a safer, healthier community on southern Vancouver Island. 

“PCFSA works to support vulnerable youth who are at high risk of participating in criminal activity, including gang involvement,” said Liz Nelson, executive director, PCFSA. “As issues related to youth violence and exploitation continue to be on the rise in our community, these programs were at risk of ending due to funding. Thanks to this support from the Province, we are able to continue these services for an additional year, while also providing us with the time needed to secure ongoing resources so these services can continue long term.”

PCFSA is a non-profit organization that provides a wide range of community programs and services to vulnerable people and families in the Capital Regional District, such as parenting education, youth mentoring and addiction-recovery services.

This investment aligns with the Province’s commitment to advance safer communities by addressing the concerns about repeat offending, supports for people struggling with mental-health challenges and addictions, and preventing vulnerable youth from participating in gang-related activity. It also builds on initiatives to work with the non-profit sector and community leaders to find solutions for these complex challenges facing British Columbians.

Learn More:

Learn more about the Pacific Centre Family Services Association by visiting:
https://pacificcentrefamilyservices.org/

Learn more about what the Province is doing to ensure safer communities by visiting:
https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/safer-communities/