Terrace & District Community Services Society

Terrace and District Community Services Society is one of the region’s largest not-for-profit charitable organizations, run by a volunteer governance board of six voting directors who act on behalf of the Society. They hire, supervise and direct an Executive Director to carry out the day-to-day management functions of the Society. The Board of Directors is responsible for defining the mission, vision, governance policy and goals of the Society, and they meet monthly from September through to June, or more often if required for special projects. TDCSS’s mission is to identify community needs and develop innovative services that enhance the lives of the people whom we support.
TDCSS has provided services in the northwest for over 40 years and has on average, 140 staff members and 20 regular volunteers, with other volunteers coming forward to work on specific community events and activities. TDCSS Community Living Services provides support and services to adults and families who have a developmental disability or an acquired brain injury. The staff is dedicated to supporting someone with a disability to live as independently as possible in the community of their choice. This includes providing respite care for families, support, training and education to increase life skills. Our Community Living Services Programs have been providing housing services to individuals who live in the community for 35 years. The individuals receive a variety of support to maintain their own independent living, which is based on their choices, support preferences, and identified needs. Support may include assistance with budgeting, banking, home management, social skills, recreational skills, life skills, health issues, safety, understanding and developing positive relationships, and integration and inclusion in their community. TDCSS Youth and Family support program is largely funded by the Ministry of Children and Family Development and primarily provides services to vulnerable families, youth and children who are MCFD referred. The staff members are dedicated to working with youth, families, and children to improve the outcomes for the youth, child, and family. The focus is to provide clients with the information and support they need to make informed decisions that will increase their ability to become healthy families, adults, and community members. TDCSS Terrace Foundry Site is designed to fill the gaps in healthcare service delivery for youth. This includes the wait times youth will have to endure upon referral to necessary services. As such, the Foundry Terrace site provides services in three key service delivery areas: Primary Care, Mental Health care, and Specialty Care. When youth enter the Foundry Terrace site, they have immediate access to a peer support worker who may either provide direct service to the youth or assist in guiding them to other services offered on-site. Additional services include medical care from a general physician, mental health care from a mental health clinician, and specialized services in the forms of addictions services, sexual health care, transgender care, and general nursing support (i.e. flue shot, vaccinations, etc.). In order to best meet the full gambit of youth presenting issues without the need for the youth to attend other off-site services, the Foundry Terrace site also offers indigenous cultural wellness support, employment assistance support, youth support through child protection services, fleeing domestic violence support, and group support activities. Youth support can include financial support and housing support. As the site has multiple fully supplied medical examination rooms, and mental health clinical settings, youth can receive the full compliment of medical services and mental health services offered at other clinics. The exception with the Foundry Terrace site is that they can attend services in a drop-in fashion and will generally not have to wait to attend a variety of services in a single visit. Having a full complement of medical, mental health, and specialized services readily available to youth without the need for long referral times greatly increases the uptake of essential services to youth while lowering the risk factors related to service drag (i.e. mental health and medical complications due to non-access to needed service, including suicide.). TDCSS Counselling and Law Advocacy Services provide individual, couples, and family counseling and prevention services funded through Northern Health and legal support services funded through the Law Society of BC. The counseling services are for adults who are struggling with or adults who are impacted by others’ challenging behaviors, mental health issues, and addictions issues. Counselling and Support Services is dedicated to improving the quality of life in our communities. The law services are by walk-in access and are designated as either family law or poverty law advocacy support.