Mental Health & Substance Use Resources

Crisis Lines

If you are experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, please contact one of the crisis lines below:

Vancouver Island Crisis Line: 1-888-494-3888

Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 9-8-8

  • A safe space to talk or text, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

KUU-US Crisis Line: 1-800-588-8717

  • Resource for Indigenous people on Vancouver Island and across the province. Support is available 24-hours a day, every day of the year.
  • Adult Crisis Line: 250-723-4050      
  • Youth Crisis Line: 250-723-2040

Information and Support

Use of Unregulated Substances 

Children and Youth

News & Events

Dr. Hendri Eksteen

Virtual psychiatry service brings timely mental health care to rural communities

Island Health now offers Virtual On-Demand Urgent Psychiatry, giving adults in five rural hospitals evening and weekend access to psychiatric care via secure virtual consultations.

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Fateh Care Charity and Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees win 2025 mental health and substance use awards

Fateh Care Charity and Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees win 2025 mental health and substance use awards

Island Health is recognizing the founder of a charity and a local counselling group for their exceptional efforts to help people experiencing mental health and substance use challenges.

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image of Beth Haywood, peer coordinator

Connection is cornerstone for peer coordinator Beth in her substance use recovery journey

For Beth Haywood, connection was more than support—it was survival. Now six years sober and a peer coordinator with Island Health, she credits the life-changing relationships she made along the way as the cornerstone of  her recovery. 

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