09/21/2025
here is the speech I prepared for our 10th Anni event on Saturday September 20th, but given it was already a long day I decided to shorten it considerably.
pics from prep work the day before
So while the agency has been operating for 10 years, I have been in the field for much longer. I have seen many great people doing amazing work, but also observed our systems of care increasingly being unable to meet the demand: ultimately, we have a finite system, and infinite need when it comes to mental health and well-being. So, I decided to address the issue at a systems-level - because I feel that is where our systems of care fail: too often these systems are outdated, siloed, bureaucratic, individualistic, entrenched, colonial, top-down models of care that reinforce status quo and are resistant to change, rather than being community-centered. As I often say, people care, systems don’t.
So what did I do exactly? I basically decided to build a different system of care, one premised on community-centered care - which is what our current systems purport to be, but I don't feel they truly are (but those within them definitely are) - and invited like-minded people to join me.
And now, 10 years in, please indulge me as I engage in a little humble bragging about what we have been able to accomplish, primarily operating outside traditional systems of care. A made-in-Surrey solution to address the mental health and well-being of Surrey residents, British Columbians, and Canadians from other provinces too - as our philosophy is if someone needs mental health support, we will provide it.
I have lost count with how many wise people have said what we are doing is rare, perhaps happening nowhere else in the world, at the scope we are doing it. How many like-minded folks continue to be drawn to us, as they want to be part of a movement that is bigger than anything I had ever planned for nor imagined.
· Our team now numbers about 600 and grows daily – interns on practicums for social work, health sciences, social services or counselling psychology, alumni who circle back to offer sliding scale affordable therapy, contracted clinical supervisors, and 4 regular staff to manage the whole thing. It can be exhausting at times. We see as many clients for counselling in Surrey and the Lower Mainland as many of these comparatively massive systems, without a penny of funding from those systems. It’s not fair or equitable, and I will continue to advocate for fairness and equity in service delivery, but in the meantime, we will continue to address the massive service gaps.
· Our output is equivalent to an office that would have 40-50 staff, but we run it all with less than 4 paid staff. Imagine what we could do with additional funding and support.
· We can offer counselling in 30+ languages, in a manner that is culturally responsive
· Last year we provided 20000+ sessions of services to children, youth, adults, seniors, couples and families, and since our inception that number is well over 100000.
· We don’t cap the # of sessions our clients can access. Our current public mental health care system is very much based on a medical model – patch them up and move them on – that works relatively fine for physical health struggles, but not so well with mental health. And within private sector, most may have enough coverage for a handful of sessions before they have to pay out-of-pocket, which many simply cannot. Chronic mental health and trauma won’t necessarily be managed in 6-8 sessions - clients can stay connected to us for as long as they need to
· We have a low barrier access – you don’t need to fill out forms to determine eligibility, you don’t need to live in a certain region, have a certain diagnosis, be a certain age or gender, your financial circumstances won’t be a factor on whether you get a service or not
· We offer services 7 days a week, including evening services, as mental health struggles don’t occur Mondays to Fridays during the day. These services can be in-person, over the phone, or online.
· We operate with minimal waits – it takes great courage to even ask for help, we don’t want to add one more stressor by putting clients on a year or longer waits. Our communities need that help now
· With infinite need and finite resources, typically services are focused on late intervention/crisis stages … meaning we rarely do prevention and early intervention, and thus great suffering and harm takes place before a service is even made possible. We on the other hand provide prevention, early intervention and later stage intervention – a continuum of care
· We realized that therapy once a week can be incredibly impactful, but it’s simply not enough for those facing numerous barriers and obstacles to healing. Thus, we developed complementary supports – psycho-educational one-to-one programs on topics such as life skills, mindfulness, self-esteem, healthy relationships, substance use, seniors support – and group programs. Our clients can access 3-5 hours of services per week, which better addresses the struggles and barriers they face.
· We are making specialized but historically expensive therapies like EMDR and Somatic Therapies accessible to low and no income communities
· We have supported and mentored 1000+ students since our inception. We are training the next generation of therapists and social workers – we provide around 30-40 trainings each year, ensuring that our interns, alumni and community partners are providing optimal care to our diverse communities. This is in addition to individual supervision and mentorship, and about 20 group supervision sessions per week
· Mental health doesn’t just impact the individual, yet traditional systems of care typically only offer a service to an individual. Mental health and substance use can impact an individual, but it also impacts their family, extended family – so we offer services to not just the individual, but to their family and extended family too, who again are not just impacted, but may also be harnessed to be part of their loved one’s healing network
· With our wide-open mandate – yet one focused on mental health and social emotional wellness – we can complement other services. We refuse to compete: if any agency offers food security or housing, we can complement their work by providing counselling to their clients, thus contributing to a more integrated, holistic system of care. At the same time, we can ease pressure off other services that offer counselling and have wait lists. We thus are breaking down silos
· We are national and even international in scope, having been involved in national projects and collaboratives led by organizations such as Mood Disorders of Canada, Pain Canada, and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and partnering with numerous universities across the world in both research and providing internships for students both within and outside Canada
And because perhaps I’m a glutton for punishment, we continue to expand and grow– and innovate. This site is another example of our desire to continue to be what our communities need us to be – and we are grateful for yet again community support, from the Gala family that has provided us this space, so that we can begin to offer land-based healing initiatives. I am also grateful to Dr. Mann and Dr. Jain and their families, who have provided us rent-free space in Newton from day one. We will continue with national expansion, and perhaps some day international expansion.
So now after ten years with Moving Forward, I realize one my greatest strengths is my ability to recognize the strengths and skills of the team, and to sometimes just get out of their way. That leaves me time to agitate and advocate while they go about seeing thousands of clients per month and making a tangible impact on our under-served communities. I decided years ago I would kick down a few doors, even if it meant burning a few bridges along they way - and then step back and let our emerging leaders and activists pick up where I left off. I’ve been getting tired of seeing my giant head in videos and articles of late, so I figure I will step back for a bit and let those leaders do their thing – and if any of you ever want to chat, you can likely find me here on this farmland, figuring out how to grow a tomato or something. So, feel free to come by and help me figure that out.
