First Nations Health Authority will stop funding mental health counselling for B.C. people who don’t have status cards, even though they may have Indigenous ancestry.
FNHA said the move comes because the federal government can no longer fund the deficits incurred by FNHA due to increased usage and expenditures over the years providing mental wellness supports for survivors of residential schools and their family members.
Since its beginning in 2013, FNHA has provided supports under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement in two different forms, said FNHA chief operating officer Richard Jock.
One has been through direct counselling and the other through contribution agreements with organizations that provide cultural supports, but also social counselling supports.
Between 10,000 to 15,000 different individuals have accessed the mental health counselling through FNHA since 2013, he confirmed, noting FNAH funds 11 organizations with contractual agreements and 2,600 counsellors.
A total of 75 per cent of clients have status and 25 per cent do not, he said.
Neil Belanger, executive director with British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society, (BCANDS) said he was alarmed to hear of the change and is asking questions.
“We imagine there will be many people impacted. Getting mental health supports is difficult for anybody at the best of times,” he said.
Four sessions is “kind of light,” to wrap up for clients working with a counsellor because everyone has different things they are dealing with, he added.
Belanger said he wants to understand why FNHA is in the situation of a funding crunch and what the federal government’s responsibility is when the need is there for non-status clients to access counselling.
“The need is there. Why are we abandoning them now, saying too bad so sad? It shouldn’t be the way this happens.”
Everyone he has spoken to said the changes will have an impact.
“Look at the Jordan’s Principle program. Does that mean every child who does not have status or children of status members are not going to be able to access these services?”
He hopes to have a conversation with FNHA in the future to understand what will happen.
“We are alarmed anytime a program is taken that will benefit people in community, particularly about mental wellness. Like I said, trying to get services is now is a grasp at the best of times.”
While FNHA is encouraging clients to pursue getting their status cards, he admitted that involves genealogical work, which can be complex at times.
When FNHA began there was a unit in what is now Indigenous Services Canada that listed all the people who received settlements in the settlement agreements and it listed all the people who had been in residential schools, Jock said.
There was a registry, applications were made, and FNHA would verify applications through the unit. Indigenous Services Canada would not share the information about individuals but would verify whether the applicant had attended residential school or was a family member of someone who had.
The unit wrapped up in 2020 and shut down in 2021.
“We went to a self-declaration method for determining who should be eligible for residential school counselling and that has been a major shift,” Jock said.
It has become a ‘very confusing’ process and the verification of family members was ‘impossible’ to verify, which is why FNHA has gone to a system so that “First Nations Status Indians will receive all of the same services,” he added.
Through webinars FNHA has alerted non-status clients about other available supports, such as helplines and crisis lines, Jock said, noting they have also provided up to four sessions for counsellors to wind up and help clients find other services.
When asked if four sessions is realistic, he responded it should be a good start.
“Our average is 15 sessions per year across the whole spectrum so I would say four sessions should be a good start.”
Anyone providing FNHA funded counselling is required to complete the San’yas Anti-Racism Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program.
Jock said 60 per cent are still not compliant with the requirement.
FNHA will start enforcing it, as well as look at other quality assurance mechanism to make sure counsellors are providing a safe service.
“We’ve also had circumstances where people were able to charge group rates. They would have six or more and heard incidents of up to 12 people and what has been the practice is charging the number of clients times the hourly rate,” Jock said.
They are changing that so the eligible charge will be .33 times the number of people up to a maximum of eight so “more reasonable” costs are associated with group counselling.
Another area will be examining the number of virtual sessions versus in-person counselling sessions.
“I believe having 100 per cent virtual sessions is open to question in terms of quality and safety,” he added.
With the number of counsellors being 2,600, Jock said it indicates the success of the program.
The success, however, has led to other organizations such a regional health authorities and some Ministry of Children and Family Development services not having as many counselling services.
“I think we’ve become something of a referral ground so I would say it would be really good to look at a multi-sectoral way to make sure we are able to continue these services as they’ve developed.”
Need has increased for mental health services due to the discovery of potential unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, he said.
“That’s happened in maybe 14 centres across the province so I would say that has been a direct contributor. Trauma was really heightened after those occurrences.”
Black Press Media has reached out to Idigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada for an interview.
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