The Vancouver Island Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees (VICCIR) is at risk of closing its doors due to a lack of grant funding.
VICCIR provides affordable mental health supports for newcomers facing trauma, isolation, and resettlement challenges.
According to the centre, a downturn in vital funding and donations has put it into crisis mode.
“Somehow the funding from the government, both provincial and federal, has seemed to be completely dried up,” Adrienne Carter, VICCIR acting executive director and co-founder, said.
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The centre started in 2015 with counsellors and interpreters working free of charge.
In 2019, VICCIR received a muti-year grant from the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, providing $130,000 per year.
Carter says this grant, combined with smaller funding gifts, kept the centre afloat.
She said that funding is expiring in April.
To make matters worse, the centre says a significant Ministry of Municipal Affairs grant has been reduced and a grant application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been denied.
“It’s a universal problem right now,” Carter said. “We’re in touch with other organizations too and they are struggling and we are struggling.”
Some who use the centre are worried about what newcomers will do without it.
Zuhal Azizi, a VICCIR employee and former client, says she moved to Canada in November 2022 after fleeing her home in Afghanistan.
“I escaped a war zone by leaving my family, my home and everything I have ever known there,” Azizi explained.
“I felt very hopeless and I felt very overwhelmed with the weight of all those things that I came through.”
She started going to VICCIR initially for work, as that is the first job she landed after she moved to Victoria.
After a few months of seeing newcomers who were going through similar situations get help, Azizi decided to utilize the centre’s offerings.
“The services changed my life completely because they gave me the support I needed to process my trauma,” she said.
“VICCIR is not only a place for counselling, it’s kind of a lifeline for the people that they need this services.”
Carter says unfortunately unless more grant money starts coming in, the centre’s doors could close.
“We may have enough until June to slide by, but don’t know what happens afterwards,” explained Carter.
She added to help, some of the employees are reducing their hours or working pro bono in order to save money.
Employees are also applying for any grants VICCIR could qualify for.
“There is several new grants that is in process, but we won’t know whether we get them or not for a few months,” Carter said.
According to the IRCC the amount of resources available for settlement services depends on how many newcomers are expected to arrive.
“Since fewer newcomers are expected in 2025-2027, available resources have been reduced to match this decrease, which has resulted in a reduction in service providers,” the IRCC said in a statement.
“In making these difficult decisions, we carefully considered the number of newcomers expected to arrive, the needs for those accessing services, relationships with our partner organizations and available resources.“
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It added federally-funded settlement services are often complemented by provincial and territorial programs.
“We will continue to work with our provincial and territorial partners to distribute settlement and resettlement resources based on where newcomers settle across Canada,” the IRCC statement read.
The Ministry of Health, which recently absorbed the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, told CHEK News in an email that it “understands the important role non-profit organizations play in supporting the mental health needs of B.C.’s diverse population”.
“While the Province’s 2025-26 fiscal year funding decisions have yet to be determined, we will do everything we can to ensure people have access to the programs they need to thrive,” the email stated.
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