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Our View: Langley rallies for youth health

Foundry part of a needed focus on young people’s needs
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Foundry Langley, currently under construction on Eastleigh Crescent, will be a one-stop-shop for youth health resources once it opens this summer. (Jim McGregor/Special to Langley Advance Times)

At the future site of Langley’s Foundry project on Eastleigh Crescent, the sound of power tools in action signals that we’re not far from adding to local supports for youth.

Langley, as part of the Metro Vancouver suburbs, is a young community. Multiple generations of people have moved here to raise families, swelling the population to more than 160,000. That means plenty of kids and teenagers and young adults in post-secondary learning or just starting their first jobs.

Which means there’s a big need for health supports that are oriented just for teenagers.

We have an aging population in Canada, with the entire Baby Boomer generation greying and retiring right now. A lot of ink has been spilled on what that means in terms of a need for more care for seniors, as they become a bigger and a bigger proportion of the population.

But in Langley, we can’t afford to forget about the other end of the age cohort, either.

Foundry, run by Encompass Support Services Society, will offer physical and mental health services, covering the whole range of issues with which young people may need help.

A focused approach to youth health is essential to having an overall healthy and functioning community. We should no more ignore youth health issues than we should ignore pediatric care or seniors health.

Langley has shown it understands this need. The City and Township have supported the project financially, and there have been hundreds of thousands in donations from the public and businesses to make it work. Encompass, which has a long history of working in the community, including through the Youth Hub, will make an excellent steward of this new resource.

Foundry will be another worthwhile piece in the ongoing evolution of Langley.

– M.C.