CVAP is a Government of British Columbia program that provides financial benefits — including counselling — to people affected by violent crime committed in B.C. It exists to offset financial loss and support recovery. Full details are on the B.C. government CVAP page.

Yes. Counselling is one of the benefits CVAP can award, alongside medical and dental expenses, prescription costs, protective measures and others.

Victims of violent crime committed in British Columbia, immediate family members of a victim, and in some circumstances witnesses to a violent crime.

In many cases yes. CVAP can provide up to 12 one-hour interim counselling sessions once an application is received and registered, so that support is not delayed while the claim is assessed. CVAP’s own guidelines note that delays undermine recovery. Interim sessions currently apply to victims and immediate family members.

CVAP’s counselling guidelines state that sessions accessed up to the deemed delivery date of a denial decision are still paid — that date being fourteen days from the date on the decision, to allow for mailing. Confirm your own situation with CVAP directly.

No. You do not have to wait for charges to be laid or for anyone to be convicted before applying.

Generally an application must be received within one year of the date of the crime. There are important exceptions: there is no time limit for a victim’s own application where the crime is or includes a sexual assault, or is based on sexual misconduct that occurred while the victim was under 19, after July 1 1972. Applications from immediate family members remain subject to the limit. CVAP can extend a limit where someone could not reasonably have applied in time.

A minor can apply on their own, or a parent or guardian can apply on their behalf, and generally has until turning 20.

No. CVAP is not restricted to B.C. residents — what matters is that the crime occurred in British Columbia. If the crime happened elsewhere, contact victim services where it occurred.

Application forms are on the B.C. government CVAP forms page. Forms differ depending on whether the crime occurred before or on/after January 1 2024, when the legislation changed. Completed forms can be emailed to [email protected], faxed to 604-660-3880, or mailed to CVAP, PO Box 5550 Stn Terminal, Vancouver BC V6B 1H1.

Yes, and most people should not do it alone. Victim service workers assist with applications at no cost. VictimLink BC is available 24/7 at 1-800-563-0808, or reach CVAP at 604-660-3888 or 1-866-660-3888.

Where the same benefit is available from another source, such as a health plan, that source is generally claimed first. Mention your coverage on the first call and we will work out the order.

Violent crime — including assault, sexual assault, robbery, and offences resulting in the death or injury of a family member. If you are unsure whether what happened qualifies, VictimLink BC can tell you before you apply.

We start with what is actually happening now: sleep, startle response, avoidance, intrusive memories, shame, anger, difficulty being alone or being in public. Where trauma processing is appropriate I use EMDR. Nothing is rushed, and you are never required to narrate the event in detail before you are ready.

No. CVAP requires administrative reporting to fund and review counselling — that sessions occurred and clinical progress where required — not a transcript of what you say. The precise limits of confidentiality are explained in plain language in the first session, before you share anything.

Not before you choose to. Plenty of early work is about sleep, safety, and getting through a week — stabilising first. Trauma processing comes when you decide it should.

Yes. Immediate family members of a victim can be eligible in their own right, not only as support for someone else.

Yes, fully. جلسات کاملاً به زبان فارسی برگزار می‌شود. For newcomers, the crime is often not the only difficulty — immigration status, language, and isolation compound it.

Yes. Secure video sessions are available across British Columbia, which matters if travel feels unsafe or if you live outside Metro Vancouver.

Usually within days. The first conversation is twenty minutes, by phone, free, and you reach me directly — no receptionist, no forms before we have spoken.

Then call VictimLink BC at 1-800-563-0808 and ask. Many people who qualify assume they do not, particularly where the person who harmed them was known to them.