Wellness, mental health & healing are more than trends—they are vital to our well-being. We offer gentle & effective programs for survivors of trauma, violence or abuse. Join us in a safe space and learn the tools to help you heal the past and look to the future.
Contact UsHEART: Healing through Equine Assistance & Resiliency Training
Let’s get ready for work! Boost your social, mental, physical and emotional well-being while we help you develop the skills to get ready for a job. Grow your resiliency and soft skills, access counselling and financial support, and break down barriers to employment, all with the help of healing and learning through equine-assisted training.
If you are a newcomer, a refugee, a member of a racialized group, a person with a disability, or an Indigenous person, you may be eligible for this pre-employment program.
Our next sessions will be in Trail and Cranbrook starting in October after Thanksgiving. Register now.


Equine-assisted learning uses horses to promote physical, occupational and emotional growth in people. It can help you build confidence, trust, and self-efficiency, improve communication and social skills, learn boundary setting and control triggers.

HEART is a skills development program in the Kootenay/Boundary region that includes foundational and transferable skills, social and emotional skills, and equine assisted learning. It is a pre-employment program to improve your overall well-being and employment readiness.

Participants will also receive individual counselling supports and a training wage at a living wage rate of $21.13 per hour for 16 hours per week. Other financial supports include childcare, nourishment, transportation, pre-employment counselling appointments, training and wrap-around services.

Group workshops & individual work
Access
- counselling sessions
- art therapy
- psychological first aid course
- mental health first aid course
- Indigenous Canada course
Meet your facilitator
Zoe McCabe is our facilitator for HEART. She's always ready to listen and offer guidance and will make sure you're getting the most out of your experience with the Skills Centre.
Inquire today
"At HEART, I was validated and valued in a way myself and experiences have never been. I was able to shed some of the guilt and shame I carried, and while it will take further daily practice, I feel a sense of strength and hope within me that I have never felt before."
Funding for our programs comes from multiple provincial and federal sources, including:
- Ministry of Post Secondary Education and Future Skills and the Government of Canada through the Canada-British Columbia Workforce Development Agreement
- The Government of Canada’s Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities
- The Government of Canada’s Skills for Success Program
- The Government of Canada’s Social Development Partnerships Program

