Supporting Our Families and Take a Break are part of the Interior Region Family Navigation Project.
Are you caring for a child/youth or dependent adult up to age 25? Are you feeling overwhelmed as a result of mental health and/or substance use issues of your loved one? Do you need help in navigating the mental health/substance use system and accessing community supports in the BC Interior Region? If so, our Family Navigation and Take a Break services may be for you.
These services are being offered throughout the BC Interior Region by CMHA Kelowna in collaboration with 7 other CMHA branches.
If you are experiencing a crisis or need immediate help, please call 911 or click here to find help now.
The Interior Region Family Navigator works collaboratively with CMHA branches throughout the Interior region and their community partners to help parents/caregivers access relevant programs and services based on their individual needs.
The Family Navigator:
- Listens to concerns
- Assesses needs
- Provides information on services
- Provides education on mental health and substance use issues
- Provides education on self care/Coping Strategies and Communication Skills
- Helps to access community based resources
If you would like to request the services of the Family Navigator, please send an email or call 1-844-234-6663. Please include the following information: Your name, child/youth’s age, your relationship to the child/youth, why you are contacting the Family Navigator, and if we can leave a voicemail message.
The Family Navigator will reply to your message within 48 hours and, if appropriate, follow up with a caregivers assessment in person or via Skype. If you live in a rural area and/or do not have regular access to a computer, you can click here and download an online caregiver’s assessment and submit the form by email or fax.
Take a Break is a support group where you can meet other caregivers/parents, make connections, share experiences, and learn enhanced coping skills. Topics of discussion include: mental health issues, substance use, strategies for mental wellness, boundary setting, and communication skills. Take a Break groups are offered at 8 CMHA branches in the BC Interior. Please contact your closest branch for more information, including dates and times. If you do not have a branch close by, please contact the Interior Region Family Navigator instead (see other tab).
Participating Branches
- Cariboo Chilcotin (Williams Lake)
- South Cariboo (100 Mile House)
- Kamloops
- Kelowna – Contact Melody Brewer – operated out of Foundry Kelowna
- Shuswap/Revelstoke (Salmon Arm)
- Vernon
- South Okanagan Similkameen (Penticton)
- Kootenays (Cranbrook)
This service has been made possible with support from Interior Health.
