Foundry Kelowna

The Foundry has helped me as a parent to learn a way to navigate the challenges and pathways towards a new relationship with my son. Thank you Rich!!

I attended a parent advisory meeting for the Foundry, and was really excited at the prospect of this new facility for our youth. Since it's opening, I have shared with people whom I felt needed the Foundry's services and have been severely disappointed with the outcomes that I have personally witnessed through my own family, and also those of the many people I have recommended the Foundry to... unfortunately mental health is once again not understood and help is definitely not provided the way the Foundry promised and advertised. People desperate for services and struggling with mental health issues will find it difficult to navigate through the Foundry's process for appointments, etc. Again, I wonder if the staff need reminding that the person who approaches the front desk at any given time most likely struggled to leave their own home in order to get to the Foundry. Even with a psychiatrist's referral in hand, why would this person then, be told by staff, very matter-of-factly, that people cannot just walk in, they need to call IH (Interior Health) to begin the process to make an appointment for them, not even given the IH phone number to call; and was then turned away... Is there a disconnect in communication between the Foundry and the Psychiatrists & Physicians of Kelowna. I was told this is not the first time this has happened, so why hasn't this been thought through, clearly communicated and addressed? I do hope that sometime soon I will begin hearing the good stories about people getting the help they truly need, the beautiful facility has been built; please find a way to service the community better.

Worst experience! It is a blessing to have the services available to support the youth, however the front desk staff are insulting, condescending and make it an uncomfortable and demeaning processes for the kids and parents! For a place that is supposed to create big impact on the confidence and self esteem of kids- it is terrible that the 3 female front desk staff members, destroy the opportunity of what could be an amazing situation for the youth. My experiences have been negative & left me feeling Seriously insulted by the shameful behaviour, words and actions of these women. No one should not have to sit in the waiting room listening to their judgements, opinions and mocking of youth that are coming in for help. Many other complaints have been mentioned in the reviews about these women! It’s TIME for something to be done about their behaviour! If business and community are fundraising to create this opportunity for youth, the implementation of positive, friendly, educated staff needs to be a priority.

In my own experience and those of my loved ones, the people working front desk perhaps need a refresher in how to interact with individuals who may be in crisis or a similar sensitive situation. My significant other was turned away and dismissed when he tried to obtain information to get help for his own mental health, and I witnessed the same thing happen to others on more than one occasion when I sought help for my own struggles. For a facility claiming to be geared towards helping youth who fall into the cracks in the system, they don't seem to be living up to their claims. Very disappointing.

I have been calling for 2 weeks to make an appointment with my doctor to refill my prescription and nobody has answered. they dont even have a voicemail anymore and i have been out of medication for 4 days now. this is awful and its extremely frustrating.

Most amazing place ever. The staff are so friendly and great there is even an off staff dog who is the MOST friendly loving dog ever. I was happy from the moment I stepped in the door. I made an appointment one day and came in the very next day to speak with a nurse practitioner who helped me with absolutely everything. Went above and beyond to get everything I needed done. This place is incredible and they have so many resources for youth available. I would highly reccomend this place to any youth in need of any sort of help

Foundry Kelowna has extremely limited access to resources, especially in comparison to what it claims to, or by what is thought to be offered generally as an extension of the foundry network, or by other healthcare workers in Kelowna. They offer a variety of 'workshops' and 'online zoom community meetings' that claim to help, and have started a bus to provide better outreach to Westbank.... But these services are never mentioned to those who call or enter the clinic. Getting any information, or doing something as simple as booking an appointment is extremely stressful for new users as unnecessary barriers are consistent. Eg) Having to call to book an appt, rather than booking online, or, leaving a message only to be ignored, or, the complicated online messaging system rather than simply using text or email. Or, the pervasive feeling of discrimination users feel for being mentally ill or disabled...in a place people are being treated for such things. Right now, according to many users it seems that service is provided at discretion of how 'liked' you are by those at the clinic, rather than based on need/risk level. At best, they offer limited drop-in counselling, and their doctor/NP access is worse than a walk-in clinic (usually a month wait at least for an appointment, upto 2-4 months for a doctor). Also, they are situated right up the road to McGuire Psychological services...but seemingly never work with them or refer individuals to them even when they ask for help in that realm. Another note is that they offer group counselling services, but good luck getting in even after repeated attempts and even it being a suggested method of treatment by their own healthcare workers. Despite, their efforts it's extremely hard for their users--vulnerable teenagers and young adults-- to access any meaningful treatment. To the Foundry itself, it's great you guys want to work on outreach! But please remember, there's no point in reaching out if you can't even provide timely and adequate support to clients directly trying to get help through the clinic. We need more consistent therapy, access to doctors/NPs, and adequate communication and outreach of staff within the clinic itself. As a thought experiment for those at Foundry: What good is a workshop on disordered eating when it takes 2 months just to get that client to see a doctor for a bloodwork referal? What happens when they fail to connect them with a nutritionist and a therapist who can actually help them treat it properly? What happens when that person attends 1 workshop, and has no other follow up care? What happens when they face ableism in your clinic? What happens when their phone call is lost in the voice-mail system, or they are told they don't actually need the resources they think they need? That they just need to fix it themselves with a "better attitude". What happens is that person continues suffering with their mental/physical issues, and has less trust to access you as a viable resource. This person receives inadequate care and you have failed your mission. "We believe young people should have a voice in their care and that finding the right support shouldn’t be difficult." "We are committed to working with our partners to change lives, communities and our systems, because young people are our future." Do better, the kids working with you often don't have a choice. You guys should be aiding kids rather than adding to the stigma of getting help.

Edit: I will not be contacting you because I ended up aging out of this program before they made any actions to help me. I’m not going to waste any more time on this place that is only considerate when in the public eye. I hate this place with everything in me. You guys are no help. This facility is supposed to be aimed at helping individuals and their families struggling with mental health. I have gone to the Foundry and I was turned away without assistance on four occasions. I was told before the foundry opened that there would be a team of specialists to talk to individuals for risk assessment, treatment plan, etc, and I have never seen or heard of this kind of service being available after the doors opened. The foundry is a glorified counselling office with no focus on anything other than preteen general anxiety.