Child Development Centre psychiatrist Matt Burkey said he was drawn to the Cariboo-Chilcotin because of its diversity.
“I’m excited to learn about the history and different First Nations cultures here,” Burkey said Friday as he finished up his first week on the job.
Burkey said initially he’s taking a learning stance and hopes to develop partnerships to help develop public health approaches.
He’s also excited to work with the Cariboo Action Team with its focus on child and youth mental health.
“The things they are doing are cutting edge,” he said of the team. “There are 80 members from the RCMP, schools, medical community and organizations all seeing how they can collaborate.”
The key to preventing mental health problems is promoting positive mental health and the investments that are necessary, he added.
The 37-year-old hails from Nebraska.
Before attending university in Baltimore, Maryland he spent a year in Bolivia right after high school teaching English.
“I met people with TB and families who had children die from it,” he recalled. “I think my experience there planted a seed for me to pursue medicine.”
Throughout his schooling he also worked in Uganda, Honduras, Cairo and India.
During the early 2000s he considered working in HIV/Aids, however, that changed after his experiences helping refugees and asylum seekers from Central Africa and all over the world in Baltimore.
“I saw there were significant mental health difficulties and it started to increase my interest,” he said.
Then when he accompanied a friend to Egypt whose mother was ill he immediately realized she was suffering severe mental health issues.
“It opened my eyes that it was so difficult for people to find the help they needed,” he said, noting his PhD involved researching child mental health in Nepal.
Burkey’s coming to Williams Lake is not by chance.
His wife Kristy Fornwald is originally from here.
The two met in Uganda while hiking.
Fornwald was there working with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) as a social worker.
The Burkeys have two daughters — Anna and Violet — and Kristy is working in adult mental health.
When the job emerged at the CDC they decided it would be nice to live close to family.
As they settle in they look forward to exploring the region. They love to hike, kayak, canoe, camp, travel and read.
“I’d also like to get into snow shoeing and cross country skiing,” he said.