Moving Forward Family Services’ Mental Health Awareness Campaign

Moving Forward Family Services’ Mental Health Awareness Campaign “Many Canadians cannot afford private psychotherapy sessions and are not eligible for publicly funded services, or face exceptionally long waits for such services,” Gary Thandi, Executive Director of Moving Forward Family Services (MFFS) explains. “MFFS’ unique model offers affordable and low cost, including free, that reaches a population that otherwise would not receive services. And it does so mostly through support of community.”

Moving Forward Family Services in just a few short years of its existence has become one of the largest counselling service providers in the region. And it operates mostly on community support. “Covid-19 has obviously resulted in considerable health impacts, but the mental health toll has also been substantial,” Thandi notes. “We also are seeing considerable increases in domestic violence, substance use and opioid overdoses, and people whose mental health has impacted their daily functioning.” “In addition to continuing to take steps to prevent Covid-19 transmission, we want the community to remember to take care of their emotional well-being, and to reach out for help if they are struggling with mental health or substance use.”

Moving Forward Family Services offers low barrier counselling services to anyone who needs it. They are undertaking a Mental Health Awareness Campaign that includes education and support around maintaining optimal mental health.

Fruiticana CEO Tony Singh is supporting their mission, by matching donations up to $10000 towards their low barrier counselling services.

Individual donations can be made online at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/Moving-Forward-Family-Services-Society/

Moving Forward Family Services (MFFS) is a mentorship agency – providing counselling and social work practice opportunities to interns and new graduates beginning private practice. They receive funding for clinical supervision (supervisors who support interns and new graduates) and these supervisors in turn oversees an agency that has over 125 part-time counsellors, social workers and interns on post-secondary practicums, providing support to some of our most vulnerable communities.

This unique model allows the agency to offer timely, affordable (including free for those with no income) counselling and support without being bound by restrictions based on gender, age, geography or presenting issues.

It also allows MFFS to complement existing services (as opposed to competing with them for the same pools of traditional funding) thus reducing pressures on these services. MFFS is committed to building and contributing to healthy, healing communities.