Coast’s care is based on three pillars for recovery: housing, support services, and employment and education. For some, the entry to help is housing. For others, it’s the art room at the Resource Centre. And for others, it’s job readiness training at the Clubhouse. Once that door opens, your donations make it possible for Coast’s staff to offer support and hope on the road to recovery.

The need for community-based mental health services continues to grow. The opioid crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have been devastating for mental health. Thanks to your steady support, Coast continues to safely care for clients in need. Your donations also help Coast innovate with virtual programming and services to save lives.

Through Coast Mental Health Foundation, your donations encourage growth and excellence for Coast Mental Health’s programming. Kind people like you hold the key to opening the door to a brighter future for our clients, and we are grateful to you.

Isabela Zabava, Executive Director & Elaine Reynolds, Board Chair

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Coast’s Shared Vision: A community that embraces and honours people with mental illness, so they may thrive and contribute. 

Coast Mental Health Foundation Mission: Coast Mental Health Foundation raises public awareness and resources to promote recovery and transform the lives of people with mental illness through exceptional and innovative community-based services at Coast Mental Health. 

Together, every day, we prove that recovery from serious mental illness is possible. 

In the last year, we faced two ongoing emergencies: COVID-19 and the worsening opioid crisis. On average, six people die every day in British Columbia due to drug toxicity and a lack of care. 

Your generosity is helping to open the door to recovery for those in urgent need.

Your donations provide essentials like housing and meals. You also make possible the programs and services which can lead to recovery, hope, and a fulfilling life. With your help, we’re helping people find a road to recovery out of crisis. 

Coast provides high quality, innovative programs bridging the gap in care between hospitals and the community. 

Many of our most impactful programs wouldn’t have gotten off the ground without your philanthropic support. Some examples include the Young Adult Program and the Peer Support program. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, we’ve expanded successful programs like Cognitive Rehabilitation, including a virtual version that offers care and connection during the pandemic. With your support, we’re helping thousands of clients open the door to hope.

As demand for mental health services increased this year, your donations sustained and supported us.

For folks living with serious mental illness, finding community can be difficult. For Kevin, connecting to Coast housing not only gave him safe housing it also provided him with an opportunity to build positive relationships. "Housing and stability have helped me deal with my anger, my anxiety, and…my social life."

Recovery from mental illness begins with a safe place to live. Coast Mental Health supports people recovering from mental illness and hardship by providing them with housing and support suited to their needs. Your kindness provided our 1,444 residents at 52 locations with healthy meals and support services. 

Your donations also help Coast adapt programs to clients’ needs. Our innovative Cognitive Rehabilitation (CR) program has expanded and a Virtual CR program was developed to reach clients in their homes safely.

Your support also enables people like Gurl23 to find recovery through art and Peer Support. 

"I’ve made great friends and some of my best paintings.”

Your support connects clients to a range of services and programs so that they can imagine a life beyond mental illness. Thanks to you, programs like Peer Support and the Art Room build confidence and hope.

Thanks to kind people like you, over 500,000 nutritious meals were served across Coast facilities. 

“I’m working again and feel a lot better. I always feel good at the end of the day, because I know I’ve done something right,” says Dave.

Through volunteering and talking to members at Coast's Clubhouse, Dave learned about the Temporary Employment Program. Once completing the course, he moved on to gainful employment with Coast's social enterprise, Landscaping with Heart.

Education and employment programs help clients to see a better future. Education programs develop confidence by teaching job skills, and employment programs help clients support themselves with meaningful work. 

With your support for these programs, clients can build a fulfilling life as they find their place in the community. 

For 50 years, your generosity has opened doors for people living with mental illness in the Lower Mainland.