2025 Mental Health and Addictions Symposium
2025 Mental Health and Addictions Symposium
October 15, 2025
The North Central Local Government Association, the Lheidli T'enneh, the City of Prince George and the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George co-hosted the 2025 Mental Health and Addictions Symposium in Prince George, BC.
About the Symposium
The 2025 Mental Health and Addictions Symposium brought together Signatories of the Mental Health and Addictions Accord, including community leaders and representatives from various agencies and governments across Central and Northern BC, to discuss key issues in mental health and addictions through in-depth discussions and knowledge-sharing.
As a follow-up to the 2024 Mental Health and Addictions Symposium, this gathering focused in on advocacy actions and priorities of the 30 signatory agencies who signed on to the Accord in 2024, as well as inviting new signatories and guests to join the collaborative discussions. Accord signatories include representatives of local governments, First Nations, and mental health and addictions service and resource agencies in Northern and Central BC.
Signatories gathered to strengthen relationships, learn from each other, and share progress on advocacy activities related to the Mental Health and Addictions Accord. A range of plenary sessions were held, allowing opportunity for participants to share roundtable updates on successful mental health and addictions initiatives, as well as barriers and challenges that remain in their communities and regions.
Participants engaged in facilitated group discussions on topics including:
- Trauma-Informed Systems of Care
- Cultural Safety and Humility in Services
- Supporting Local Action Plans
- Strengthening Interagency and Government Partnerships
- Wellness in the Workplace – Caring for the Caregivers
The Accord was revisited as a living document, and reflections were shared on advocacy priorities. Priority actions and commitments were identified related to advancing next steps, tracking collective progress and fostering shared accountability.
We are pleased to announce that 9 new Signatories, including First Nations, local governments and agencies, have signed on to the Mental Health and Addictions Accord:
- Village of Granisle
- Village of Burns Lake
- District of Hudson’s Hope
- Village of Fraser Lake
- Tahltan Band
- Association Advocating for Women and Community (AWAC)
- Prince George Sexual Assault Centre
- Northern Peer Guardians
- Youth Wellness Society of Mackenzie
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More Information
The Mental Health and Addictions Accord is a shared advocacy framework and commitment to work together to improve mental health and addictions outcomes in northern and central BC, through specific principles and actions. To learn more on the Accord purpose and vision, click here
We invite all NCLGA members to consider endorsing and adopting the Mental Health and Addictions Accord in their communities.
If you have any questions about the Symposium, please contact: Sandra Moore at admin@nclga.ca.
For more information on the Accord development, or for local government or agencies interested in becoming a new Signatory, please contact: Bettina Johnson at bjohnson@nclga.ca.