Welcome to the MWI. We’re here to help.
Get accessible mental and physical healthcare through virtual appointments.
What is the MWI?
The Mental Wellness Initiative (MWI) is a locally-oriented, volunteer-run initiative aiming to co-create a community of caring and belonging by facilitating access to low-cost holistic mental wellness services.
MWI offers
Low fee/no fee sessions with mental wellness practitioners: In-person and virtual sessions range from $0 to $50, with practitioners including psychiatrists, reiki healers, massage therapists and more.
Salt Spring Island
Including counselling services, community supports, resources for food scarcity.
Vancouver Island & the Lower Mainland
low/no-cost substance use and mental wellness recovery centres, free youth counselling, emergency help lines.
Why low/no-fee mental wellness services?
¼ of the 22 million Canadians that would benefit from mental health supports cannot afford them (Thompson & Simpson, 2021).
Low income individuals are 1.5-3x more likely to experience depression and anxiety, emphasizing the importance of low-cost, accessible mental wellness services (Ridley et al, 2020).
You belong here
We wish to co-create community in which everyone belongs, and recognize that each person’s needs and experiences are unique.
All beings are deserving of low-cost, timely, accessible mental wellness services, regardless of their background or income. We are here to support you in finding a service that works for you.
LAND AKNOWLEDGEMENT
MWI is based within the traditional, ancestral lands of the Coast Salish Peoples.
We are grateful to live, work, play, and grow on these unceded lands. We recognize the privilege we hold in offering our services on stolen land, and are committed to acting as indigenous allies and advocates.
Get Involved
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Become a client
Fill out form/email to become a client of VC
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Join as a practitioner
Contact us to be considered to become a VC practitioner.
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Volunteer
Contact us to get involved as an MWI/VC volunteer.
FAQs
Is it really free?
Practitioners offer either free of sliding-scale pricing up to a maximum of 50$. If you are unable to cover your practitioners fees, please reach out to us.
How do I know the practitioners are professional?
MWI is transparent about involved practitioners certifications and qualifications, as found on our ‘VC: Meet the practitioners’ page. If you have outstanding questions about the practitioners, reach out to us
How did this project come to be?
While mental wellness challenges do not discriminate, those experiencing house-lessness, societal stigmatization, financial challenges, and food scarcity are disproportionately affected by negative mental health. On Salt Spring, we see growing numbers of the above populations, with very minimal supports. We feel the high cost of living, unrealistic housing/rental market, and isolative nature of the island pre-disposes locals to mental wellness challenges, and therefore require increasingly accessible mental wellness services.
What is VC?
VC is a network of holistic practitioners that offer low/no-cost mental wellness services. VC functions to provide opportunities for all members of the SSI community to access holistic mental health support, without the financial stressors.