PLEA has been opening doors for children and families facing challenges since 1979.
PLEA is a COA accredited community service organization that provides tailor made services to meet individuals needs and circumstances.
PLEA adheres to the principles of service & employment equity.
About PLEA
PLEA MISSION
"Through unique services tailored to individual strengths and needs, PLEA helps children, youth, adults and families with significant challenges to lead fulfilling lives within their communities."
PLEA VISION
We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to have a “good life” and that everyone counts.
We believe that each of us has a right to:
• Be treated with dignity and respect,
• Rewarding relationships with the important people in our lives,
• Connections with family and community,
• Be able to live our lives to the fullest extent of our strengths,
talents and abilities,
• Be able to have access to services, when we need them, to assist
us to be the best we can be.
PLEA PROGRAMS
PLEA is an accredited, multi-disciplinary community agency that provides a wide range of services for children, youth and adults. We are engaged in mentoring, youth justice, child welfare, education, addictions, mental health, community living and long-term residential care programs. We operate throughout Metro Vancouver, with some services delivered in the Sea-to-Sky, Sunshine Coast and Central Coast communities. Through partnerships, KidStart services are also delivered on Vancouver Island.
Our services are especially effective for persons whose challenges require focused, intensive assistance for them to succeed. We tailor all our services to the particular circumstances, strengths and needs of individuals, and ordinarily deliver services on a one-to-one basis.
Our employees, family caregivers and volunteers are passionately dedicated to providing those we serve with the best possible support, and are committed to achieving excellence in all aspects of service delivery. We believe that everyone must be supported to the best of their abilities. Everyone should have the opportunity to have "a good life." Everyone counts.
Our origins are in the 1973 DARE one-to-one intensive support program and a 1982 family care residential program, both of which were pioneering alternatives to custody for youth in the justice system. They emphasized belief in the potential of each person, the importance of adult role models and learning through positive activity in the community.
This core service model, based on durable relationships, continues to provide the foundation for all our programs. Services are intensive, flexible and outreach-oriented; they are tailored to personal goals, strengths and developmental needs. We accept the onus to engage with each person and to earn their acceptance and trust; if an approach is not working, we change it. Our intent is always that those we serve are able to successfully leave the service system and, where this is not possible, to assist individuals to live as independently as possible in their own communities.
Our 350+ employees, family caregivers and volunteer mentors are together responsible for a daily active caseload of about 800 individuals. Our personnel are culturally diverse, skilled, experienced and enthusiastic. They are tenacious and responsive. They understand the services system and are loyal to the needs of our communities.
We work closely with referring and funding authorities, and build robust partnerships with other service providers. We work openly in the community and make extensive use of many community resources while generally maintaining a low public profile.
We support one another to provide effective services to consistently high
standards. Our services are supported by research and known best practices.
We are committed to contributing to the research literature through independent
projects undertaken in collaboration with our research partners. We enjoy
the creative process of adapting existing services and building new programs
in order to better meet individual and community needs.