WHAT WE DO
The Jacob Puddister Memorial Foundation was created by Jake’s family to honour the son, brother, grandson, and friend Jake was to so many. Although he struggled with mental illness for many years, Jake prioritized the needs and feelings of all those he loved and cared about. If he was aware of someone who was struggling, he would go above and beyond to help them. From unconditionally supporting friends battling their own mental health, finding a place for a friend to stay, or gathering money and toys for the local Happy Tree, Jake’s compassion and light shined through even his darkest moments.
We created the foundation so that our compassion and kindness may persevere through the pain of losing Jake. We created the foundation so our love for him and the love he had for those around him would have somewhere to go. Our mission is to provide mental health resources to youth in Newfoundland and Labrador and to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health through various fundraising efforts and community partnerships.
With Jake’s heart and your help, we can make a difference.
Free Counselling for Youth (Ages 12-35)
We provide free counselling services to youth ages 12-35. Clients can plan to meet regularly with the same mental health care provider across 10 free sessions of therapy. Clients will get the chance to articulate needs and goals in the first session, with subsequent sessions designed to help reach those goals, decrease distress, and increase support, validation, and hope.
Peer Support
We have a Certified Peer Support Worker on staff here at JPMF to allow us to fill gaps in care in our organization and communities. Peer support offers clients a chance to discuss ongoing or acute mental health challenges in a safe and non-judgemental space.
Therapeutic and Support Groups
Our therapeutic and support groups are currently on pause while we wait for the covid-19 pandemic to stabilize. Please check back here or email counselling@jpmemorialfoundation.com for more information on these groups when they become available.
VALUES
Partnerships & Community
Empathy & Respect
Equity & Action
ASSUMPTIONS
At JPMF, we work from a trauma-informed framework and honour that many people have experienced trauma in our community. We believe that people’s lived experience matters and that each individual is the expert of their own lives. We believe that self-diagnosis is valid. We believe in continual education of our staff and volunteers, especially around marginalized populations such as BIPOC and 2SLGBTQIA+ folks. We acknowledge that many people are oppressed by many systems and we see how that contributes to mental health challenges. We acknowledge that there are many barriers that get in the way of people accessing mental health services and we strive to lower them as much as possible. We believe that creating and maintaining holistic approaches to therapy allow for inclusion, evidence based care,and up to date understanding of each individual's unique needs. We take pride in the compassionate and respectful atmosphere and environment we have created in our place of work and we are always striving to follow new learning with action.MANDATE
At JPMF, our mission is to provide mental health resources to youth in Newfoundland and Labrador while contributing to the effort to eliminate the stigma associated with mental health challenges. We honour our mission by providing free counselling and peer-support to youth ages 12-35, creating groups to address the specific needs of folks in our community, and through various community partnerships that are aligned with our goals and values.