Supported by the Katz Amsterdam Foundation

Welcome to the Building Community Resiliency Project, aimed at fostering a greater awareness of priority needs and working to address barriers and gaps in the current mental health and substance use support infrastructure in the community of Whistler.

Project Scope:
The Whistler Blackcomb Foundation has been tasked with convening a group of key stakeholders in the corridor to help open the lines of communication between residents, local government, community health care providers, law enforcement, health care professionals and key agencies who will guide the project through informed, perspectives on issues related to mental health and substance use in Whistler (with an eye for services that span the corridor).

Objective:
To promote cross-community collaboration that will foster a greater understanding of the local mental health and substance use landscape in Whistler, with a lens for neighbouring communities. We aim to uncover opportunities to build improved community support networks that span the continuum of care from prevention to treatment while working to address barriers to access.

Planning:
Tier 1: The Building Community Resiliency Task Force – a professional community collaborative group tasked with reviewing community data, identifying trends and priority needs, designing a platform for community engagement, and developing a list of recommendations.
Tier 2: Engagement & Recommendations – invite input from residents, professionals, employers, and stakeholders via an online survey platform designed to offer an opportunity to voluntarily submit responses and experiences in the space of mental health and substance use. Analyze results and identify practical initiatives to address priority needs, strengthen community support, and help build community resilience in Whistler, and throughout the corridor.
Tier 3: Implementation – plan, design and implement practical sustainable initiatives.

The Whistler Blackcomb Foundation is excited to be convening this group and looks forward to being a part of mobilizing community efforts around this very important topic.