WELCOME TO OUR BACKYARD
Let’s talk about what’s happening in our own backyard
At Family Services of Greater Vancouver, we walk alongside clients as they navigate life’s challenges. Our Backyard is where we come together to share stories, provide resources for the community, and create dialogue about complex issues such as homelessness, trauma, and poverty. There’s more to every story, so let’s dive in.
All Posts
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FSGV 2026 Recommendations to the Standing Finance Committee
At the beginning of June in 2026, leadership from Family Services of Greater Vancouver spoke to the Standing Finance Committee of BC to give recommendations for investments to support British Columbians.
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Hiya’s Story: “I Believe You”
“I believe you.” These three words are the foundation of Hiya’s work. Hiya is a Victim Support Worker at Family Services of Greater Vancouver (FSGV). Her clients are child and youth survivors of violence. For these young people, Hiya provides…
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The Power of Play
A common experience trauma survivors articulate is that choice was taken from them; they didn’t get to choose what happened. This is as true for child survivors as it is for adults. And it’s why, at Family Services of Greater…
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Room to Learn about Yourself: Stories from the Directions Pre-Employment and Life Skills Program
Jennie from the Pre-Employment and Life Skills Program at Directions Youth Services (of FSGV) shares stories about what her program does and what the impact is for youth who attend her workshops.
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Enhancing Collective Impact: The Financial Empowerment Community of Practice
Financial Empowerment at FSGV is building a Community of Practice for frontline organizations that offer (or want to offer) trauma-informed financial empowerment programming.
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Respecting the Person Behind the Story: FSGV’s Client Story Philosophy
There’s no doubt: stories are powerful. In the non-profit sector, they help people outside of the work understand its impact, inspire community support, and bring complex issues to life. They put a face to the work, particularly when it’s a…
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Parent-Teen Mediation: Conflict Skills for Life
PTM supports families (of all kinds) who are experiencing interpersonal conflict between caregivers and teenage youth. Families are referred to our program by a social worker when they need a helping hand to improve their relationship. Our mediators have unique…
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In Their Own Words: Client Quotes from 2025
At Family Services of Greater Vancouver, we don’t often share client stories. It’s a balance of reasons which mostly comes down to prioritizing keeping people safe: sharing a story before you’re ready can be re-traumatizing and nobody owes us their…
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An Impact You Can See: Supporting Local
“You’re a local charity, I like that. I don’t have to turn on my TV to see what my donation is going to. Living downtown, I can just walk out my door and it’s all around me.” These words come…
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More Than Food and a Bed: Care with Dignity at the Core
When we first walked in the door, a youth worker asked us if we were hydrated. Sitting down in the staff office to start the interview, a different youth worker asked if we wanted water, tea, or coffee. About 20…
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Running a Home for 9 Teenagers: What it Takes to Operate a 24/7/365 Youth Safehouse
How do you begin to summarize what it’s like running a Safehouse for youth? Well, to start, imagine a house with nine teenagers. Among the six bedrooms, there are nine beds, which are nearly always full. Youth share three bathrooms.…
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A Conversation with Mari, Trauma Counsellor at FSGV
Mari, a Trauma Counsellor at FSGV, is currently working toward getting her PhD in Expressive Arts. Last year, while working on presentations and sessions for her PhD, she was also completing training on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) at UBC. “I…