Foundry

What Foundry does

Foundry BC is a publicly funded, not-for-profit Integrated Youth Services (IYS) initiative that delivers free and confidential mental health, substance use, physical and sexual health, peer support, and social services to youth aged 12-24 in British Columbia, along with their families and caregivers. Founded in 2015 as a program of Providence Health Care, Foundry operates a hub-and-spoke model comprising 17 physical centres across BC as of 2025, with ten additional locations announced in March 2024 (Burnaby, Chilliwack, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Quesnel, Sooke-West Shore, South Surrey, Vancouver, Vanderhoof, and West Kootenay) taking the planned footprint to 27+ centres. Each centre is operated by a local community-based lead agency (e.g., Fraser Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, Carrier Sekani Family Services, YMCA BC, Snuneymuxw First Nation & Kw'umut Lelum), creating a federated delivery model under Providence Health Care's provincial coordination. End users can self-refer without appointments or parental consent.

Foundry's technology stack centers on the Foundry BC mobile application (iOS and Android) and the Foundry Virtual BC Web Portal (webapp.foundrybc.ca), which together provide province-wide virtual services including same-day and scheduled counselling, youth and family peer support, and physical/sexual healthcare booking. The platform supports browser-based access without requiring downloads and integrates pre-appointment surveys with launch-meeting functionality. Supplementary digital products include a Resource Library with wellness articles, self-assessment tools (e.g., a Stress Self-Check Quiz built on the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales), and topic pages. No proprietary APIs, SDKs, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed; content is produced in partnership with BC Children's Hospital's Health Promotion and Health Literacy team.

Foundry's revenue model is anchored by provincial government funding rather than user fees. Budget 2023 committed CAD 74.9 million over three years through the BC Ministry of Mental Health & Addictions, with each new centre receiving CAD 1.5 million in one-time establishment funding plus ongoing operating support. A secondary revenue stream comes from public donations routed through St. Paul's Foundation, which can be directed to either the province-wide initiative or specific centres. Because services are free at the point of use, Foundry functions as a managed-services provider to government with a freemium-style donation overlay, distributed via physical centres, self-serve digital channels, and phone-based inside sales. The organization also participates in research collaborations such as the Improving Treatment Together (ITT) Project with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.

Name

Foundry

Legal name

Foundry BC

Website

https://foundrybc.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Foundry BC is a publicly funded, not-for-profit Integrated Youth Services initiative that delivers free mental health, substance use, physical health, and peer support services to youth aged 12-24 in British Columbia and their families through a growing network of 17+ community centres and a province-wide virtual platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Mental Health and Wellness Services

NAICS

Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) (621330), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Couples & Family Therapy Teletherapy Platforms (HLALAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Meditation Apps, Digital Courses & Online Communities (HSADAJAH)

Keywords

• Youth mental health services
• Integrated youth services
• Substance use counselling
• Youth peer support
• Wellness resource library

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Budget 2023 invested $74.9 million over three years to improve Foundry programs and expand the number of centres. The Province provides annual funding for operations and services, one-time funding of $1.5 million to establish each newly announced Foundry centre, increased operating support for existing centres, and enhancements to the Foundry BC App. Lead agencies contribute existing resources and services integrated into the full service model.
2. Donations: Foundry accepts donations to support province-wide initiative and individual Foundry centres. Donations can be directed to general Foundry BC or to specific local Foundry centres.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Foundry BC provides free, confidential, integrated mental health and wellness services for youth ages 12-24 in British Columbia and their families. Its core service portfolio includes drop-in counselling, youth and family peer support, physical and sexual health care, workshops/groups, and employment and education support, delivered through a combination of physical centres, a mobile app, and a web portal. All services are accessible without referrals and at no cost to the user.

Product overview

Foundry BC is a unified youth wellness platform operated by Providence Health Care that combines physical centre-based services with a digital service delivery ecosystem. The core portfolio consists of the Foundry BC App (iOS/Android mobile application) and Foundry Virtual BC Web Portal for provincial virtual services, supplemented by a network of 17 physical Foundry Centres across BC with plans to expand to 27+ locations. The Resource Library provides educational content, self-assessment tools like the Stress Self-Check Quiz, and wellness articles. Core services include drop-in counselling, youth peer support, family peer support, and physical/sexual health care, all offered free and confidentially to youth ages 12-24 and their families.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Foundry BC App: Mobile application for provincial virtual services including counselling, peer support, and physical & sexual healthcare access
• Foundry Virtual BC

Products and services

• Foundry BC App

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• BC Centre for AbilitymajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 March 2024Lead agency operating new Foundry centre in Burnaby as part of March 2024 expansion announcement.
• Fraser HealthmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 March 2024Lead agency operating new Foundry centre in Chilliwack as part of March 2024 expansion announcement.
• Snuneymux First Nation & Kw'umut LelummajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2024Indigenous partnership lead agency operating new Foundry centre in Nanaimo as part of March 2024 expansion announcement.
• Alberni Drug & Alcohol Prevention Service (ADAPS)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 March 2024Lead agency operating new Foundry centre in Port Alberni as part of March 2024 expansion announcement.
• YMCA BCmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 March 2024Lead agency operating new Foundry centre in Quesnel as part of March 2024 expansion announcement.
• Thrive Social ServicesmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 March 2024Lead agency operating new Foundry centre in Sooke-West Shore as part of March 2024 expansion announcement.
• Sources Community Services & Alex HousemajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 March 2024Partnership lead agencies operating new Foundry centre in South Surrey as part of March 2024 expansion announcement.
• Vancouver Coastal HealthmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 March 2024Lead agency operating new Foundry centre in Vancouver as part of March 2024 expansion announcement.
• Carrier Sekani Family ServicesmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 March 2024Lead agency operating new Foundry centre in Vanderhoof as part of March 2024 expansion announcement. Also previously partnered for Burns Lake centre.
• Kootenay Boundary Community Services Co-opmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 March 2024Lead agency operating new Foundry centre in West Kootenay as part of March 2024 expansion announcement.
• BC Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023BC Children's Hospital Health Promotion and Health Literacy team develops the health literacy Info and Tools content for Foundry's website, including wellness articles, topic pages, and health education resources.
• Providence Health CarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundry BC is a program of Providence Health Care (PHC). PHC operates Foundry Central Office and Foundry BC website, and follows FIPPA for privacy. Foundry's provincial work is administered through this partnership.
• Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-led the Improving Treatment Together (ITT) Project alongside Foundry Central Office and Foundry Victoria to improve experiences and outcomes of community-based services for young people who use opioids, their families, and service providers.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Direct peers

• Wellness Together Canada: Federal government-funded portal offering free mental health and substance use counselling, self-assessment, and peer support to Canadians of all ages — directly comparable free/no-referral virtual service and youth-relevant content, but at national scope and without physical centres.
• Jack.org: Canadian charity training youth as mental health advocates and providing resources across Canada — directly comparable in target audience (Canadian youth), free/no-referral access model, and emphasis on peer-driven engagement, though more advocacy- and education-focused than clinical service delivery.
• Kids Help Phone: National Canadian e-mental-health service for youth offering 24/7 confidential support via phone, text, and chat — directly comparable to Foundry's free, confidential, no-referral virtual services, though delivered nationally rather than with physical centres.
• Strongest Families Institute: Canadian distance-mental-health charity providing telephone and online coaching to children/youth (4-17) and families on anxiety, behaviour, and other issues — directly comparable in free Canadian service model, virtual-delivery orientation, and family-inclusive design.
• ACCESS Open Minds: Pan-Canadian network of Integrated Youth Services demonstration sites targeting youth aged 11-25 with mental health and substance use supports — directly comparable IYS category offering and target population to Foundry BC.
• Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO): Ontario's Integrated Youth Services network delivering mental health, substance use, primary care, and social services to youth aged 12-25 in community hubs — structurally analogous to Foundry BC's IYS model and Foundry's closest Canadian direct peer in design and population served.

Regional players

• Coast Mental Health: BC-based non-profit providing housing, employment, and clinical mental health supports primarily to adults across the Lower Mainland — comparable as a BC mental health provider with social-services-integration DNA, but serves adults rather than Foundry's 12-24 youth focus.

Broad incumbents

• Headspace Australia: Australia's national youth mental health foundation operating 150+ physical centres plus digital services for ages 12-25 — the most mature scaled global example of the integrated youth services model Foundry BC implements, but at materially larger national scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Foundrybc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/foundrybc
• Instagraminstagram.com/foundry_bc/?hl=en
• TikToktiktok.com/@foundrybc?lang=en
• Xx.com/Foundrybc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Foundry