Privacy Commitment

At Touchstone Family Association, we are committed to protecting your privacy and the personal information you share with us. We recognize the importance of your trust and take our responsibility to safeguard your information seriously.

How We Use Your Information

We collect, use, and share your personal information only with your informed consent, and only when it is necessary to:

• Provide you with services,
• Coordinate care with professionals involved in your support, or
• Comply with legal or regulatory requirements.

We will always explain why we need your information, how it will be used, and who it may be shared with.

Privacy and Technology-based Communication

We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal information is handled with care. While texting, email, and social media may feel convenient, they are not always secure ways to communicate.

For this reason, if you contact your counsellor through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, text messaging, or other third-party apps, they will respond only in a limited way and redirect you to a more secure method, such as a phone call, encrypted email, or in-person appointment. This is to safeguard your confidentiality and comply with privacy laws and ethical standards.

We want all clients and families to be informed about the potential risks of communicating through technology. These risks may include:

• Messages being intercepted, misdirected, or accessed by unauthorized people
• Delays or failures in message delivery or receipt
• Confidential information being stored on third-party servers without your knowledge or consent

We do not use social media platforms or public-facing messaging services for clinical conversations, or any exchange of sensitive information.

If we need to contact you by phone or email, we will confirm your communication preferences and obtain your consent as part of your intake process. You can update these preferences at any time.

For more information about common risks you should be aware of when communicating through technology, please click here.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Your Privacy

Touchstone may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to support administrative, operational, and service-delivery activities. Any use of AI is guided by our commitment to privacy, confidentiality, professional ethics, and human oversight. We do not use AI to make decisions about your care, services, eligibility, or treatment. Staff remain responsible for all decisions, recommendations, documentation, and communications involving client care.

To protect your privacy, any use of AI must comply with applicable privacy laws, professional standards, and organizational policies. Where AI is used to support service delivery, Touchstone will be transparent about its use and provide information to persons served, as appropriate.

If you have questions about how AI may be used within our services, please contact us and we will be happy to provide additional information.

Your Right to Withdraw Consent

You can withdraw your consent for us to use or share your personal information at any time. Please note that doing so may limit our ability to continue providing services to you.

Learn More

If you'd like to understand more about the potential risks of communicating through technology, or how your privacy is protected at Touchstone, we’re here to help.

For more information about our privacy policies and procedures, please contact our Executive Director, Judy Valsonis, Privacy Officer:

By Mail:
Touchstone Family Association
210-3031 Viking Way
Richmond, BC V6V 1W1

By Phone: 604-279-5599

For all other inquires, please contact your designated counsellor or staff member.