Health Minister formally announces Community-Led, Crisis Response in Comox Valley

On Tuesday, May 20th, B.C.’s Minister of Health Josie Osborne formally announced the Crisis Response, Community-Led team (or CRCL, pronounced “circle”) expanding to the Comox Valley. Minister Osborne was joined at the press conference in Simms Millennium Park in Courtenay by K’ómoks Elder Fernanda Pare, K’ómoks Chief Nicole Rempel, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) BC Division Jonathan Morris, and AVI Health and Community Services Program Coordinator Nicole Morrison.

“ Working in partnership with the K'ómoks First Nation, AVI Health and Community Services, and the Canadian Mental Health Association B.C. Division, I am really honoured to be here today with everybody to formally announce the Comox Valley CRCL, or Crisis Response, Community-Led team that is established, that is here, that is working and is serving people in the Comox Valley,” Minister Osborne said.

In her announcement, the health minister acknowledged this increase in complex mental health issues and substance use challenges throughout the province, and expressed how everyone, including people with mental health and addictions challenges, deserves to feel safe in their own neighbourhoods and communities.

“By combining the clinical expertise of people together with the knowledge of people who've lived through similar experiences, this is a community-led approach that offers a more empathetic and effective response that can make a real difference in somebody's path to recovery,” she said.

Osborne described the service as helping people in crisis get timely and compassionate support from people who truly understand their experience.

“This might include those who are experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, feelings of grief and panic and anxiety, or acting in feeling in ways that is distressing. And the CRCL team helps to deescalate the situation, ensures and plans for the safety of the person in crisis, and connects them to services that support their longer term needs,” she said.

Formerly known as Peer Assisted Care Team (PACT), CRCL originated as a pilot project in North and West Vancouver. It officially launched in January of 2023 and is currently operating in five communities. Locally, the program soft-launched in October 2024 servicing the K’ómoks First Nation, and expanded in December to include all people living in the Comox Valley.

K’ómoks Chief Nicole Rempel spoke to the importance of CRCL partnering with K’ómoks First Nation, and not only being community-led, but Indigenous-led as well.

“Indigenous communities have lost too many of our people, too many lives taken by trauma, addiction, and systems that were never built with us in mind. Our communities have been grieving. Our communities have been asking for help, but too often we are met with silence, delays, or responses that do more harm than good. Mental health crises should never be treated as crimes, and yet for Indigenous people, especially those who are visibly Indigenous, the response we receive is not care, and we are often left more vulnerable. There's a deep and dangerous gap in mental health crisis response for all those suffering, especially in the space between hospitals and law enforcement. And that gap continues to cost lives. But today I am proud to say that K’ómoks is taking action. Through this CRCL program, we are piloting a new community-led approach to Indigenous mental health support. One that is trauma informed, culturally grounded and rooted in the strength and wisdom already present in our communities. This is not about ticking boxes. This is about culture, about connection, about compassion. 

For K’ómoks this is not just a pilot program, it is a process of decolonization. We are dismantling structures that have failed us, and we are replacing them with Indigenous-led systems of healing, care, and community support. This is about aunties showing up with medicine. It's about creating space for people to heal. It's about making sure that those doing the work, our frontline responders are supported, valued, and protected in turn. As part of the CRCL initiative, K’ómoks First Nation responders carry trauma-informed backpacks. These carry Cedar, Tobacco, Devil's Club, which are grounding tools for Indigenous people navigating the pain of trauma. These items are not symbolic, they are medicine. They are cultural anchors, and they are care. This is how we reclaim care by building systems that our communities can trust. Systems that other nations can learn from, adapt and build upon. It is a path forward. 

To ensure this work is led with care, we are establishing a K’ómoks advisory committee to guide the CRCL progra