A welcoming space where youth can walk in without scheduling weeks in advance
When eleven sexual health clinics closed across British Columbia in March 2026, the North Okanagan became one of many regions left without confidential care options for its youngest residents. Into that gap, the Canadian Mental Health Association Vernon and District is stepping forward — not merely as a stopgap, but as the early architecture of something more enduring. Beginning April 16, a free, no-appointment clinic will open its doors to youth aged 12 to 24, offering immunizations, STI testing, and health education as a quiet act of restoration in a community that had been quietly abandoned.
- Eleven Options for Sexual Health clinics shuttered across BC in March 2026 when base funding increases fell short of what was needed to keep them alive — leaving vulnerable youth without confidential care overnight.
- The North Okanagan's single remaining Options clinic in Vernon cannot absorb the regional demand, creating real delays for young people who may already hesitate before seeking sexual health support.
- CMHA Vernon is launching a free Thursday drop-in clinic on April 16, partnering with Interior Health to offer vaccines, STI testing, and contraception information with no appointments, no paperwork friction, and full confidentiality.
- The clinic is designed to meet youth where they are — removing the scheduling, social, and logistical barriers that most often stop teenagers and young adults from accessing care in the first place.
- This Thursday clinic is not the destination but the beginning: CMHA Vernon is building Foundry North Okanagan, an integrated youth health hub set to open in June 2027, where mental health, primary care, and sexual health services will share one roof.
When Options for Sexual Health closed eleven clinics across British Columbia in March 2026 — including locations serving the North Okanagan — the region lost something quietly essential: a place where young people could seek confidential sexual health care without friction or judgment. The organization's executive director explained that while base funding would increase, it would not increase enough. Communities were ranked, and some were left behind.
The Canadian Mental Health Association Vernon and District is now working to fill that absence. Starting April 16, a free drop-in sexual health clinic will run every Thursday afternoon from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at the Youth Integrated Services Hub on 30th Avenue in Vernon. Open to anyone between 12 and 24, the clinic requires no appointment and offers immunizations, STI testing, contraception information, and immunization record reviews — all in confidence.
Mark Fossen, who manages youth and family services at CMHA Vernon, described the intent simply: a welcoming space where a young person can walk in without planning weeks ahead or navigating the social discomfort that often keeps people from asking for help at all. Public health nurse Rachel Lund echoed that framing, noting that youth would be able to access real-time information and be connected to additional care providers when needed.
The Thursday clinic is also a rehearsal for something larger. CMHA Vernon is constructing Foundry North Okanagan, an integrated youth health hub that will bring mental health support, substance use services, primary care, and sexual health resources together under one roof. Construction begins this spring, with an opening planned for June 2027 — a future in which the gap left by March's closures may finally, fully close.
When Options for Sexual Health shuttered its doors across British Columbia in March, the North Okanagan lost access to a critical service for young people seeking confidential care. Eleven clinics closed that month—in Lumby, Salmon Arm, Nakusp, Kelowna, and eight other communities—leaving a gap that the Canadian Mental Health Association Vernon and District is now moving to fill.
Starting April 16, CMHA Vernon will operate a free drop-in sexual health clinic every Thursday afternoon from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at the Youth Integrated Services Hub on 30th Avenue. The clinic is open to anyone between 12 and 24 years old. No appointment is required. The partnership with Interior Health represents an attempt to restore services that vanished when Options, which had operated these clinics for years, ran out of money.
The closure came as a shock to many. In early February, Options executive director Tiffany Melius announced the decision in a brief statement: the organization's base funding would increase, but not enough to keep all eleven clinics running. The math was simple and brutal. Options would have to choose which communities to serve and which to abandon. The North Okanagan lost out. The Vernon Health Unit still operates an Options clinic on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., but that single location cannot serve the entire region.
The new CMHA clinic aims to remove barriers that keep young people away from sexual health services. Mark Fossen, who manages youth and family services at CMHA Vernon, framed it plainly: a welcoming space where teenagers and young adults can walk in without scheduling weeks in advance, without explaining themselves to a receptionist, without the friction that often stops people from seeking help. "We hope to reduce the hesitation and challenges that may exist when youth are seeking health resources," he said.
The clinic will offer five vaccines—HPV-9, Hepatitis B, measles-mumps-rubella, tetanus, and chickenpox—subject to availability. Young people can also have their immunization records reviewed and their vaccination status checked. Health care professionals will conduct free on-site testing for sexually transmitted infections and provide information about STIs and contraception options. All services are confidential.
Rachel Lund, a public health nurse with Interior Health, emphasized the safety and confidentiality of the space. "Youth can access information and resources related to sexual health in real-time and be connected with allied care providers where necessary," she said. The clinic is not meant to be a one-off solution. It is a stepping stone toward something larger: Foundry North Okanagan, an integrated health hub for young people that CMHA Vernon is building. Construction begins this spring, with an opening targeted for June 2027. When Foundry opens, it will expand the model that the Thursday clinic is testing—bringing mental health, substance use support, primary care, and sexual health services under one roof, designed specifically for how young people actually seek help.
Citações Notáveis
We hope to reduce the hesitation and challenges that may exist when youth are seeking health resources.— Mark Fossen, CMHA Vernon manager of youth and family integrated services
Youth can access information and resources related to sexual health in real-time and be connected with allied care providers where necessary.— Rachel Lund, Interior Health public health nurse
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did Options close these clinics? Was it a sudden decision?
It wasn't sudden for the organization, but it felt sudden to the communities. Options got more base funding, but not enough to run all eleven clinics. They had to make cuts, and the North Okanagan lost out.
So the funding increased but still wasn't enough. That's a strange position to be in.
It is. You'd think more money would mean more services. But the reality is that operating costs kept rising, or the increase didn't match what they needed. Either way, young people in Lumby, Salmon Arm, and Kelowna suddenly had nowhere to go.
And now CMHA is stepping in. Is this a permanent fix?
It's a start. The Thursday clinic is free and no-appointment, which removes a lot of friction. But it's one afternoon a week at one location. The real vision is Foundry, opening next year—a full integrated health center for youth.
What makes Foundry different from what existed before?
It's not just sexual health. It's mental health, substance use support, primary care, all designed around how young people actually want to access help. One building, one model, no wrong door.
And in the meantime, youth have this Thursday clinic.
Yes. It's barrier-free—no appointment, no judgment, confidential. For a young person nervous about getting tested or asking about contraception, that matters.