About CMHA Toronto

CMHA

Toronto

The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), founded in 1918, is a nationwide, charitable organization that promotes mental health for all.

Established in 1953, CMHA Toronto has grown to operate 18 sites across the city, employing over 425 staff and serving over 13,000 individuals each year.

Our vision is for mentally healthy people in a healthy society. We are on a mission to improve the mental health of all with services, advocacy and leadership that create belonging and hope.

sites across Toronto

425

staff

13,000

people served annually

What We Do

Mental Health Services & Programs

Our wide-range of services and programs aim to promote recovery and encourage positive mental health. We help clients and their families access different types of support as their needs change. By being culturally responsive, accessible and inclusive we can support the diverse needs of our community members.

Based in collaboration and partnership, our programs address the factors that impact mental health including housing, access to education, social and community connections, financial stability and health care access.

Mental Health Promotion

Through community-based workshops, resources and programs, we champion the importance of mental health promotion. This work helps create and maintain safe living and working environments where people can experience and support positive mental health.

Mental Health Research, Leadership & Advocacy

We use our influence, research and experience to drive systemic change.
We relentlessly pursue a mental health and addictions care system that is accessible to everyone.
We champion mental health promotion and mental health illness and addictions prevention within the broader mental health and addictions system.

How We Do It

People living with mental health challenges or mental illness are the experts of their experience.

Anchored in equity and inclusion, we listen to our clients to gauge what support they need and how they want to engage with our services and supports. All of our work aims to address the social determinants of health so people can become, and stay, well.

Through a client-first, trauma-informed, recovery-oriented approach, together we build tailored plans to advance recovery.

Client-first

Clients and their families decide which programs and services are best for them and have the most powerful voice in designing what gives them good health and a strong community.

People with living experience also help guide how our organization operates and the programs and services we offer.

Trauma and violence-informedWe recognize the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledge the role trauma may play in an individual's life.

Recovery-oriented

We respect that each individual’s recovery is unique and we offer multiple options to support their needs.

Recovery is an ongoing journey of self-healing and transformation. It means living a full, self-directed life in the community, with or without the presence of symptoms.

We see hope, self-determination, social inclusion, and wellbeing as key to recovery.

Latest News

Leadership & research collaborating for quality and better outcomes

Collaborating for quality & better outcomes

CMHA Toronto is leading a multi-agency research team to increase collaboration across the sector and ultimately provide better access to high-quality community mental health services. Read more from CMHA Toronto’s Chief Research Officer, Frank Sirotich, who spoke with us about this important and innovative study.

TCCS’s 5 Key Principles: Serving clients and communities better with compassionate, client-centred crisis care

Through vivid case examples, learn how TCCS’s non-carceral, compassionate, and client-centric approach puts “a foot in that revolving door of crisis to get to the root of the issue” for those experiencing a mental health emergency.

Creating a space for safety and support

Archana, manager, and Matthew, clinical lead, of Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) spoke with us about the pilot program launched July 2022 that is creating space and safety between the police response to those in mental health crisis and the often-retraumatizing hospital environment.

4 Tips for Trauma-Informed Self-Care: Caring for yourself while caring for others

“We’re always acutely aware of the impact trauma has on our clients and the impact that it has on those of us who serve them,” says Housing First manager, Pio Giralico. In June, we spoke with the Housing First team who shared their reflections, insights, and techniques for dealing with the day-to-day trauma they experience in their work.

Housing First: Stories of housing and hope

Three Housing First clients share their stories of recovery and resilience in the face of different challenges.

Housing First: More than a roof over their heads

These days, in major centres across North America including Toronto, the right to housing is going unfulfilled for some of society’s most vulnerable. So, in the meantime, CMHA Toronto’s Housing First team offers support, counselling, access to healthcare, and other resources that can keep people afloat as they work to secure safe, affordable housing.

5 things to know if your loved one is hospitalized for a mental health issue

Elly Litvak and Shannon O’Neill, family navigators with CMHA Toronto’s Family Navigation & Support program, offer five things to keep in mind if you have a loved one who has recently been hospitalized for a mental health concern.

The recovery journey takes a team: Friends and family need support too

It can be scary, confusing, and frustrating to interact with the mental health care system. But for hundreds of people whose loved ones are involved in psychiatric care at St. Joseph’s Health Centre, Elly Litvak and Shannon O’Neill are companions, guides, and advocates for the kind of support that is often unavailable to families.

Walking together on the road to recovery

Although their routes to and through the mental health system varied, Liz, Sharon, Connie, and Linda found that their paths became a little less rocky and their skills and spirits were strengthened once they were connected with the resources and support available from CMHA Toronto’s Family Navigation & Support program.

It takes a village: Multicultural Women’s Wellness Groups offer a community of support

Women who join one of CMHA Toronto’s multi-cultural women’s wellness groups are sure to find something of interest and value – delivered for them, with them and often by them. While multicultural women’s wellness groups have been available through partnerships between CMHA Toronto and various community agencies for more than a dozen years, going online during the pandemic enabled the groups to reach more people and engage more guest speakers than ever before. 

Nothing about us without us: Integrating the client’s voice and lived experience

Clients and family members are deeply embedded in the culture and structure of the agency, participating in working groups, committees, and throughout each program area. Including the client voice is intentional, mission-critical, and a best practice for advocacy and change for which CMHA Toronto is recognized in the broader community.

Recovery College: Learning to heal and grow

In spring 2020 – as the pandemic was shutting down in-person learning around the world – CMHA Toronto collaborated with Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences to take a curriculum of mental health and recovery-related educational courses online. Now in its fourth year, CMHA Toronto’s Recovery College has grown from five courses to a catalogue of more than 50 – learning that advances the recovery journey.

CMHA Toronto celebrates Pride

CMHA Toronto joins individuals and organizations worldwide to celebrate the history, courage and diversity of Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex and asexual (2SLGBTQIA+) individuals for Pride Month in June.

I felt like a human being. I felt like I was contributing to society again. It reminded me that I still have something to give despite everything that I've gone through

Jacqualine turns her life around

A six-month community treatment order started Jacqualine on a road to recovery that took her life in directions she could barely have imagined. Thanks to her own active engagement, growing confidence, and the steady support of CMHA Toronto’s community treatment order team, Jacqueline now serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration for those who are taking a similar journey.

Demand up, supply down: Coping with the post-COVID mental health service crisis

The Intake, Information & Referral Team [Amanda at centre and Maria at far right] and student volunteers at a mental health and wellness fair held at the Jane-Finch Mall in fall 2022 CMHA Toronto’s Intake, Information and Referral Program is noticing a massive spike in demand in the post-pandemic period just at a time when the availability of services is

A day in the life of a CMHA Toronto case manager

Sabrina Giralico sat down with us to talk about her role as a case manager with CMHA Toronto. This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

CMHA Toronto launches food bank to address food insecurity

This winter the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Toronto launched a food bank program to support our clients with mental health challenges who were also struggling with food insecurity.

Integrating Care for People with Schizophrenia: Hospitals and Community working together

An integrated care pathway for people diagnosed with schizophrenia has been developed through a partnership between Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores), Scarborough Health Network (SHN), Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Toronto, and Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Durham.

CMHA Toronto partners with West Toronto’s Ontario Health Team to improve the mental health of all with free community workshops

The Canadian Mental Health Association Toronto Branch (CMHA Toronto) is proud to announce its partnership with the West Toronto Ontario Health Team to deliver a series of free mental health workshops to the public. The workshops will be focused on promoting mental wellness, providing support, and building resilience for individuals and communities during these challenging times. The partnership is part

CMHA Toronto achieves Exemplary Standing with Accreditation Canada, receiving a perfect score!

CMHA Toronto has achieved a perfect score in its recent accreditation survey with Accreditation Canada – receiving Accreditation with Exemplary Standing.

CMHA Toronto celebrates National Volunteer Week 2023

CMHA Toronto joins organizations across the country this week in celebrating National Volunteer Week. Volunteer Canada’s theme for this year’s National Volunteer Week is Volunteering Weaves us Together. The intent behind this year’s theme is to celebrate individual and collective actions in creating strong, interconnected and vibrant communities. Volunteers are crucial to CMHA Toronto’s ability to provide well-resourced and effective

CMHA Toronto opens doors for Syrian and Somali youth

In 2016, with 25,000 people arriving in Canada fleeing the trauma of the Syrian civil war, CMHA Toronto expanded its Opening Doors Project to include a youth mentorship component. A more intensive approach to address newcomers’ mental health issues in the context of their resettlement was urgently needed.

Getting A Clean Break: CMHA Toronto’s Extreme Cleaning and Hoarding Supports service is needed now more than ever

After a hiatus during COVID-19, CMHA Toronto’s Extreme Cleaning and Hoarding Supports program is catching up with a backlog of cases on two fronts: those that were put on hold when the pandemic lockdowns started, and the demand that built up during COVID isolation that worsened the conditions driving the need in the first place.

"I've been employed for two years now, and I've been well. I'm independent now. It's been amazing

Nurse Practitioner Stepped Care: A bridge on the road to recovery

NP Stepped Care liaises with four community-based ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) teams to identify and transition clients who are at a point in their recovery where they no longer require intensive support but still require medication, counselling, and case management services. The program also accepts clients from other CMHA Toronto programs.

CMHA welcomes historic investment in community mental health and addictions

CMHA Toronto welcomes historic investment for community mental health and addictions in 2023 provincial budget

The provincial government has allocated the largest base funding commitment for community mental health and addictions care in a decade as part of their 2023 budget. The government announced Thursday that it is providing the sector with $425 million over three years for mental health and addictions, including a five per cent increase for base funding of community-based mental health

Our Statement on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

CMHA Toronto is committed to equity, shared knowledge, advocacy and accountability at individual, organizational and systemic levels. We will provide effective mental health services that are accessible, meaningful and appropriate to diverse individuals and communities. CMHA Toronto opposes and acts against racism and other forms of discrimination, including those based on physical and mental disabilities, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religious beliefs,

Mental Health for All

By supporting CMHA Toronto you help ensure that when people need mental health support in Toronto they have somewhere to turn.

Your donation helps create belonging and hope so clients can thrive in their home and community.

DONATE TODAY