About 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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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 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 healthDonate Today
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.