Vancouver Island West Coast Men's Support Society


The West Coast Men's Support Society offers a safe supportive place for men to gather and grow. They offer men the tools & strategies by which to live their lives with integrity, trust, responsibility and accountability. The WCMSS inspires men to live their richest, most meaningful and healthy lives with their families and community!

Vision Statement: "The vision of the West Coast Men’s Support Society (WCMSS)is to support a community where men and women of all ages live with equality, equity and peaceful co-existence."

What they do:
  • Offer counselling, support, and referrals to men in the emotional, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of their lives
  • Offer tools strategies for the fostering of strong and healthy relationships with partners, families, and community -- where all feel affirmed, validated, respected, and cherished
  • Support men in learning to communicate and enrich existing relationships
  • Help men with family court/divorce, separation, custody and access issues
  • Support adolescent males of age 12-17 to grow into strong, healthy men who have a strong sense of self, inner purpose and direction
  • Promote community awareness regarding men and men’s issues, and advocate on men's behalf
  • The information gathered from this survey will assist us in defining the needs of your community, and will assist us in developing timely, relevant, and client-centred programs.


I had the honor of connecting with the Executive Director Grant Waldman (@WestCoastMenBC) of the WCMSS in a short e-mail interview:

Q: You are the Executive Director of the West Coast Men's Support Society, tell us what that entails and what the society does..

A: As the ED of the WCMSS, I am charged with ensuring that our programming is delivered on Vancouver Island and across BC. We are based in the Cowichan Valley where we test our new programs and resources. However, it is our goal to build connections and deliver programming up and down Vancouver Island, to the Lower Mainland, and to other regions across BC. We already have a representative in the Okanagan who is promoting our programs there. We are in discussions with a rep in Victoria and the Comox Valley; and hope to build connections with reps in the Lower Mainland, the Kootenay's, and northern BC.

Formerly, we were known in the Cowichan Valley as The Cowichan Men’s Resource Centre. We are proud to inform you that the change in our name status reflects the greater scope and impact our programs are now having across British Columbia! Our bevy of programming includes: our newly re-designed Respect & Compassion program, Dads Make a Difference, Fire & Bones - Youth Mentoring, and Men’s Circles that occur up and down the island and across BC. Along with our recent re-branding initiatives, we are pleased to introduce to you new programming, including the following:

  • Senior Men’s Circles – It is widely known that a number of men over sixty suffer from depression. This is compounded by the fact that many men tend to isolate themselves, thus depriving themselves of the opportunity for social support, assistance and friendship. If you are over the age of 60 and wish to connect with other men about the unique challenges you face at this developmental life stage, come check out this circle!

  • Men’s Grief Resources – Dedicated specifically to men and boys dealing with grief and loss

  • Restorative Justice Resources– The intention is to forge a dialogue between victims and offenders of wrong-doing. We recognize that both the individual and community are impacted by injustice

Please take a look at our specific program pages on our website for more details.

Q: What do you love most about your job?

A: What I love most about my job is that I am making a difference in people's lives. By dropping pebbles in the pond with the various programs we are delivering, I am impacting our community.

Q: What do you love about living on Vancouver Island?

A: I love that by living on Vancouver Island I have exposed myself and my family to a slower and healthier pace of life. I love the raw majesty of Mother Nature on the wild west coast. I love the breadth & depth of our artistic community. I love the slow food movement. I love living in a village community.



The WCMSS is located in 80 Station St., Suite 213 in downtown Duncan.
Phone: 250 597-2801
Fax: 888.845.3405
E-mail: info@westcoastmen.org
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