Our Goal, Our Mission, Our Dream.The Prepaid Therapy Collective funds therapy for youth in, and from, Government care, with a focus on providing support for our communities most vulnerable youth. Ultimately, The Prepaid Therapy Collective wishes to be as low barrier as possible with support reaching both youth from care and youth outside of Government care. |
How Prepaid Therapy Collective Works Funded by corporate donors, the Prepaid Therapy Collective works alongside mental health professionals to maximize the amount of prepaid sessions we are able to provide youth per donation.
On top of this, all mental health professionals, be they therapists, coaches, councilors or mentors, are encouraged to provide both in-person and online sessions, allowing youth to access support with a professional they are compatible with, regardless of location. Free emotional support through schools and universities are often limited in both choice of professionals available and accessibility to, frequency of, and location of sessions. Youth who do find free support via therapy, counseling, or coaching, often feel stuck with limited choice of professionals available and pressure to continue because of the price point, regardless of compatibility. Due to this, many youth in Government care spend time settling for professional support workers that they do not connect with.
As a remedial counter to this, Prepaid Therapy Collective encourages youth to "shop around" until they find a professional whose way of being feels supportive and safe. |
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Why Prepaid Therapy is NeededDespite social service programs, like the "Youth Agreement" and "Agreement with Young Adults" programs, providing monthly funding to youth in care, British Columbian youth receive no financial support for therapy, counseling or other emotional support.
BC Youth in Government care are given the choice of rehabilitation, post-secondary education, or vocational/life skills training if they are to receive any funding. Of these options, only rehabilitation offers funding for therapy, if it is offered by the rehabilitation facility. Despite the dedication of many programs focus towards funding youth, the lack of financial support for emotional well-being allows for the cycle of trauma to continue. We believe that to create true, lasting change, not only for individuals but for generations to come, that financial aid needs to extend coverage for professionally supported, emotional growth and healing, as well as living expenses and basic daily-needs.
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Who Prepaid Therapy Helps
Prepaid Therapy Collective currently works to fund the sessions of youth ages 12-26 who are in care or who have been in care. As the organization grows, our hope is to make eligibility even more accessible, extending funded sessions to those who truly need the support regardless Government care status.
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Our Story
I, Mallory Woods, founder of the Prepaid Therapy Collective and Into The Woods Coaching, am a former youth in care and the Student Representative for the Youth Futures Education Fund.
My advocacy for youth, as well as my own struggle through British Columbian Government care, has led me to feel equally amazed and appalled at the financial support given to youth and the clear lack of financial support provided for emotional support. I remember being seventeen and feeling so grateful for the monthly $50 I was sent for my phone bill. Despite my gratitude, I was baffled at how my support cheque covered my phone but not my therapy, which was roughly the same amount. For years, I chose instead to forgo a phone plan, spending the $50 intended for my phone bill, on therapy instead.
This left me, even as a youth with stable housing, in some dangerous predicaments, but the healing and emotional stability I received because of my professional supports felt worth it. I advocate for youth in care to receive an extra $100 a month of funding to cover the average price of two sessions a month. Until then, I work with donors and professionals to provide prepaid therapy for youth in and from care.
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How You Can Help
This grassroots organization is in the beginning stages of reaching out to financial supporters who believe in our dream, connecting support workers with youth, and building a heart-led brand with the capacity to provide low-barrier support to youth both within our community and beyond. Here is how you can help,