Parksville resident Earl Blacklock has been recognized by the BC Achievement Foundation for his work helping expand the number of trained counsellors practicing on Vancouver Island.
The Executive Director of Island Community Councilling, Blacklock said that the bulk of the work that he does is with trauma survivors.
“The definition of trauma that I use is that you are overcome and overwhelmed for a period measured in weeks, months, or years,” he said. “And that is important as a distinction because a lot of people think that trauma is the traumatic event.”
Blacklock says that when he experienced trauma decades ago, he had to navigate things on his own.
“I was the victim of a workplace assault. I was an EMT that was on a 24 hour shift, and I was sleeping when I was assaulted by my partner and woke up in the hospital after the damage he did,” he said. “I was never able to go back to that field again.”
Later in life he would pursue three masters degrees, including a Masters of Counselling.
“I looked at what was happening on Vancouver Island in terms of, if somebody experienced what I experienced, what was available for them, and I realized there is almost nothing available even now, 45 years later,” he said.
The BC Achievement Foundation is a non profit organization established in 2003 that has awards in five different streams.
Blacklock is one of 20 winners across the province of the 2024 community award.
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify