An extraordinary gift has landed in downtown Vancouver that will change the landscape of youth mental health and substance use care across British Columbia. An entire four-storey building is being donated to St. Paul's Foundation for use by Foundry – a province-wide network that provides free, confidential integrated health and wellness services to young people aged 12-24.
The new building, at 1220 Homer Street, was generously donated by a private foundation and is valued at over $13.8 million. It will become the future home of BC's most comprehensive youth wellness centre.
“We have an opportunity to provide twice as much room for life-changing services,” says Steve Mathias, executive director at Foundry. “This means more room for group therapy, life-skills programming, and life-saving mental health and substance use care support to connect and decrease social isolation. This building makes all of that possible.”
A decade of providing youth health care
Foundry has helped thousands of young people overcome life’s challenges since opening North America’s first integrated youth services centre on Vancouver's Granville Street in 2015.
Launched with support from St. Paul’s Foundation donors, Foundry’s innovative health care model is simple, yet transformational: remove barriers and improve access by co-locating all services in one purpose-built space.
Foundry offers young people and their caregivers the appropriate help they need and deserve, when they need it – within their communities and online. The success of this approach propelled Foundry to expand into a province-wide network of 19 locations, with 16 additional sites planned to open by 2028.
“Foundry has always been there for me,” says Amanda Horne, peer support worker and former Foundry client. “From being a former client to now working as an employee, I am immensely grateful for all the support I have received. As a client, Foundry helped me learn to understand and manage my diagnosis to the best of my ability, which helped me become a better version of myself. Now, working with youth, I feel privileged to be able to give back what was so given to me.”
A critical moment for youth mental health
The donated building comes at a time when youth mental health challenges are escalating across the province. Across Canada and here in BC, the data paints a concerning picture:
- 1 in 4 youth in Canada aged 15-24 are affected by mental health or substance use challenges
- Toxic drug overdoses are the #1 cause of death among youth in BC aged 10-19
- 50% of youth accessing Foundry report thinking about suicide in the past 90 days
Foundry Vancouver-Downtown: The heart of Foundry’s future
Foundry’s existing location on Granville Street is currently its smallest centre, serving one of Canada’s largest urban populations. With rising demand for services, this donated building donation gives Foundry the chance to rewrite the future of youth mental health care in Vancouver and across BC. In a first for Foundry, the centre will also bring its research and evaluation team under the same roof as frontline services.
Every detail of the new Foundry Vancouver-Downtown has been thoughtfully co-designed with youth to reflect their needs, voices, and experiences. From the layout to the lighting, the space is designed to foster privacy, safety, healing, and to support the seamless integration of services under one roof.
With abundant natural light, ground-floor access, excellent transit connections, and proximity to community partners, this new flagship home will empower Foundry teams to do what they do best: deliver life-changing care that meets young people where they’re at.
New features and upgrades to improve Foundry Vancouver-Downtown include:
- Safe, bright, and welcoming spaces that use calming and natural elements
- Better ventilation systems for smudging ceremonies and enhanced air quality
- 3 additional Primary Care rooms to support physical and sexual health care needs
- Larger facilities to run recreational wellness activities such as art and crafts, yoga, games, and cooking classes
- Doubling and soundproofing the talking and group rooms for young people accessing mental health or peer support
- A more open and accessible floor plan
- A brand-new elevator for better accessibility
- A dedicated lab room for sample collection and analysis
“We are proud to partner with Foundry and Providence Health Care to bring this visionary project to life,” says St. Paul’s Foundation’s President and CEO, Sheila Biggers. “This milestone marks an exciting chapter in transforming youth mental health and wellness in our province, and sets a powerful precedent for Canada. Together, we are building a future for young people to gain greater access to the care and support they need during the most pivotal time of their lives.”
Philanthropic support still needed to make this space a reality
With an expansive floorspace exceeding 20,000 square feet, the newly gifted building requires significant upgrades to convert the space to a health care and social services facility by late 2026.
We’re grateful to have support from both the provincial and federal governments, but philanthropic contributions are essential to bring this vision to life. St. Paul’s Foundation is leading the effort to secure the remaining funds needed to transform this space into a world-class centre for youth health and wellness.
We’re so close to making this incredible space a reality – but we can’t do it alone. From the very beginning, donors have played an integral role in Foundry’s journey. Today, continued community support can help us create a flagship space worthy of the youth we serve.