VAST BC - Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture

A community of healing survivors supporting each other, recovering from trauma, and connected with settlement and other community and cultural agencies in positive, empowering ways. We address the mental health needs of over 2000 people with significant trauma arriving from over 100 countries. Over our organization’s 40-year history, we’ve seen time and time again that the survivors we work with are profoundly resilient. In the face of torture, war, politicized violence, and some of the most egregious crimes against humanity, healing becomes an act of resistance.

BC's largest centre for refugee mental health, VAST supports the mental health of more than 2000 people with significant trauma arriving from over 100 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Founded on the conviction that healing is an act of resistance, we have for over 40 years employed a province-leading model of trauma-informed practice in an open, non-violent space. The result: resilient, inclusive community amongst newcomers. We support newcomer survivors - those afflicted by trauma resulting from torture, political violence, and other forms of persecution on the basis of race, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation. We facilitate a range of programs including individual and group trauma-informed counselling, capacity building workshops and initiatives to strengthen the BC refugee mental health sector, psycho-legal documentation for refugee claimants, a community emergency food bank and clothing donations, and advocacy to governmental institutions. Our services are offered in 26 languages, including Arabic, Farsi, French, Mandarin, and Spanish. VAST is BC’s only Torture Treatment centre, a member of the International Rehabilitation Council for Victims of Torture, and the only agency in Canada funded by the UN’s Fund for Victims of Torture.