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 30+ sites across the city, employing over 450 staff and serving over 22,000 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.

30+

sites across Toronto

450+

staff

22,000+

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 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-informed We 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

Arts for All

It is no surprise to anyone who held a crayon in kindergarten, picked up a pencil or paintbrush in high school, or has merely admired the artistic endeavours of others, that arts and crafts offer joy and self-discovery. Thanks to a grant from the Toronto Arts Council, CMHA Toronto has been able to expand its arts programming so that clients can enjoy the stress relief, self-expression, and social connection that come from making art together.

Making Art is Good for Your Health

Whether a maker or an appreciator, there are many benefits to doing art. And the great news is that you do not need artistic talent to experience them. The simple physical act of creating art can lower stress hormones like cortisol, activate the brain’s reward pathways, and provide a healthy non-verbal outlet to process complex emotions.

Health Care for the Whole Person

Community mental health nursing brings a deep connection between nurses and patients and offers the rewards of accompanying people during their recovery in a way that acute care nursing usually does not.

A Partnership for Care

For many people experiencing homelessness or precarious housing, serious mental illness or substance use challenges, the greatest barrier to health care isn’t the lack of services. It’s the lack of a system designed to help them access those services — and stay connected to them.

A Different Kind of Job Fair

For many job seekers, job fairs can be overwhelming. Large crowds, long lineups, and rushed conversations with recruiters can make it difficult to build meaningful connections — especially for people who may already be navigating anxiety or other mental health challenges.

Meet A-Way Express

An employer of choice for people with lived experience.

Mental Health Week 2026

This year’s Mental Health Week events were rich with collaboration, creativity, and connection, dovetailing nicely with the theme: Come Together, Toronto.

Come Together, Toronto

How art sparked connection during Mental Health Week 2026

Building a Responsible Approach to AI at CMHA Toronto

AI is upon us, whether we like it or not, bringing with it complexities, risks, and also potential benefits. The challenge faced by organizations like CMHA Toronto is to find ways to harness the rewards of generative artificial intelligence (AI) while having a robust framework in place to mitigate risk and well-communicated guidelines for its use.

Stress in the City

City life can wear people down — and in Toronto, more people are feeling it. The recently released Thrive Mental Health Report finds that the percentage of people who rated their own mental health as very good or excellent dropped sharply between 2015 and 2022: from 73 percent in 2015 to 52 percent in 2022.

The Importance of Lived Experience in Mental Health Practice

By: A CMHA Toronto staff member who wishes to remain anonymous. Some details have been slightly changed to preserve anonymity.

Back to Its Roots

This past International Women’s Day, the long-running Multicultural Women’s Wellness Program (MCWWP) decided to inject some social activism into their celebrations.

Storytelling helps healing happen

By Elly Litvak, Family Worker, Family Outreach and Response Program – CMHA Toronto

Family Intervention Therapy Extends Its Reach at CMHA Toronto

In November 2024, CMHA Toronto launched the pilot of Family Intervention Therapy (FIT) — a structured, psycho-educational method for supporting families navigating serious mental health challenges. At the time, Dimple Mehta, CMHA Toronto’s Manager, Family Outreach & Response and Healthy Families, and Antonio (Tony) Gordinho, Clinical Lead, Transitional Rehabilitation Housing Program, were learning more about the approach by trying it out with two families and were hopeful it would have wide applicability for CMHA Toronto clients.

Inside Strengthening Communities in Scarborough

At 140 Adanac Drive and 10 Glen Everest Road, the sounds of everyday life are often punctuated by sirens. Police cruisers, ambulances, and fire trucks are a familiar presence — part of the background of daily living for hundreds of people trying to maintain stability in difficult circumstances. These buildings are classified as Level 3, or “complex needs,” housing — places where overlapping mental health, addictions, physical

Building Strength from Within

Every Tuesday afternoon at 10 Glen Everest Road, the recreation room becomes something more than a shared space. Tables are set out. Art supplies appear. Sometimes there is bingo, sometimes chair yoga. What matters most, though, is not the activity itself — it is the consistency. In a “complex needs” building, where untreated mental health and addictions issues, trauma, and social instability

Navigating Grief & Loss During the Holidays

The holidays can be hard for those who are grieving. The often unrealistic expectations placed on us for our time and emotional energy, financial pressures, and the need to navigate what might be challenging family dynamics all collide at this time of year.

Taking Care of People and Their Pets

When Mark Dwyer found himself standing outside a client’s home throwing dog food through a partly opened door, he knew a long-simmering problem needed a better solution. As Program Manager, Housing First and Strengthening Communities in Scarborough (SCS), he and his staff had been concerned for years about what happens to pets if their clients end up in the hospital, incarcerated, or otherwise unable to take care of them.

Pet Care in a Crisis Gives Me Peace of Mind

Laurie Hall recently signed up for CMHA Toronto’s Pet Care Crisis Plan and shares her story with us.

Room for Grief: An Update on CMHA Toronto’s Grief Support Program

We caught up with Christina Gallo, RP, a mental health therapist with CMHA Toronto and the facilitator of the agency’s Grief Support Program.

Canada’s Settlement System is Reaching a Breaking Point

Settlement workers are essential to Canada’s immigration system — and immigrants are essential to Canada’s growth and vitality. But a new CMHA Toronto study shows the sector’s workers are burning out under unsustainable pressures. It’s not just a workforce challenge — it’s a warning sign for Canada’s settlement system overall.

Three Simple Shifts That Can Transform Your Workday

We’ve all had days when work feels overwhelming – deadlines pile up, inboxes overflow, and stress takes hold. But what if compassion, not pressure, was the foundation of how we worked together?

Tackling Food Security One Plate at a Time

The MIND Program is a registered charity dedicated to fighting poverty, food insecurity, and social isolation in the most vulnerable neighbourhoods in Toronto. Based in South Scarborough, the MIND Program is a frontline organization that runs compassionate food programs in low-income, homeless, and/or equity-deserving communities. It currently serves almost 500 homemade meals a week to the community, including in CMHA Toronto housing sites at 10 Glen Everest and, most recently, Carlton House.

Carlton House Offers a Safe Place to Land

Carlton House, newly opened in May 2025, is filling a gap in housing sorely needed in Toronto. Devoted to refugee claimants new to Canada, the 25-person CMHA Toronto housing facility quickly reached full capacity. A full- and part-time staff of more than 20 bring with them not just expertise in mental health issues, but also the lived experience, knowledge, and skills to walk alongside people as they navigate Canada’s complex refugee claimant system.

Celebrating Excellence: TCCS award-winners honoured by the City of Toronto

The Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS), a groundbreaking initiative providing non-police crisis response in the city, recently marked a milestone as it celebrated three years of dedication, creativity, and leadership delivering what has become known as the city’s “fourth emergency service.”

In conversation with De’Janna Mignott

Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS), which just celebrated its three-year anniversary, has changed the face of crisis response in Toronto. We spoke with De’Janna Mignott, CMHA Toronto’s TCCS Community Engagement Lead, to learn more about her role, how the program has grown, and where it’s heading.

Closing the Care Gap: Primary Health Care from CMHA Toronto

Accessing quality, timely primary health care is challenging for many people in Toronto, but for those living with serious mental health and addiction issues, the barriers can be especially steep. Long waitlists, fragmented services, stigma, and challenges navigating the system often mean that physical health takes a back seat – even though people with mental health conditions face dramatically higher rates of chronic illness and early mortality.

Gennady’s Path to Health and Wellness

For many people, accessing primary health care is such a daunting challenge that they end up going without for many years, jeopardizing their physical and mental health. That was the case for Gennady, whose early interaction with CMHA Toronto’s Primary Health Care (PHC) program likely saved his life – and put him on a path to better health and wellness that he would not have considered possible just two years ago.

Taking Pride to the Next Level

Sophia Chan, Clinical Lead, Toronto Community Crisis Service, co-chairs the nine-member CMHA Toronto Pride committee. With a surge in committee membership, they’ve been able to ramp up activities with staff and clients alike – not only during Pride month in June, but throughout the year.

The Healing Power of Community at Routes’ Spring Fling

This year’s Spring Fling was jam-packed with conversation, camaraderie, and community. The gathering at Routes Community Centre highlighted the many events underway in June for Pride and National Indigenous History Month. It was also an opportunity for CMHA Toronto to extend its gratitude to the Ontario Trillium Foundation and be recognized for its work in the community by the province of Ontario.

From the Classroom to the Community

Five students from the medical school at the University of Toronto (U of T) got hands-on, real-world experience in a community mental health setting while also offering CMHA Toronto clients insights and tips to use in interactions with their family doctors.

Navigating the Mental Health-Justice Intersection: A collaborative approach to equity, inclusion, and systemic change

At the intersection of human services, mental health, addictions, and the criminal justice system, Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committees (HSJCCs) offer a province-wide network for learning, advocacy, and care.

Unmasking Mental Health

As part of 2025’s Mental Health Week (May 5 – 11), CMHA Toronto is launching a trio of new workshops aimed at helping individuals and organizations better understand, talk about, and support mental health. Each of the workshops tackles this year’s theme, Unmasking Mental Health, by providing information, practical tools, and a way to start open and authentic conversations about mental health.

From Crisis to Stability: Hadi’s Story

When Hadi first heard the words bipolar disorder, he had no framework to understand what they meant. “Prior to this, I didn’t know what mental health was, even the word itself,” he says. Receiving a diagnosis marked an inflection point: finally, he could make sense of the experiences he was having and take steps to better manage his symptoms, but at the same time it upended the career track he was on and put his ability to support his family in jeopardy.

A Just Culture, A Well-deserved Honour

“This time they got me really good,” laughs Garfield Bembridge, CMHA Toronto’s Chief Organizational Performance Officer, reflecting on his complete surprise at being presented with King Charles III’s Coronation Medal at a recent all-staff meeting attended by more than 300 CMHA Toronto staff.

Creating Space for Wellness

CMHA Toronto recently held its first in-person all-staff meeting since before the pandemic. The morning session – equal parts information, inspiration, and celebration – brought more than 300 staff together to reconnect with each other and take a pause for wellness. Under the banner “Together We Thrive,” the meeting and wellness fair reflected not just a deep appreciation for employees, but also the values that have earned CMHA Toronto the Nonprofit Employer of Choice Award in 2023 and the honour of being named one of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures by Waterstone Human Capital in 2024.

ASIST Training: Become a Lifesaver with Suicide Intervention Skills

If you’re looking to make a real difference in your community, the ASIST program – Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training – may be exactly what you need. This suicide prevention course equips individuals with practical tools to intervene in suicide situations and support people in crisis. Whether you’re a healthcare provider, educator, frontline worker, or simply someone who wants to help, ASIST training can empower you to save lives.

Healthy Families: A Partnership for Caregivers in Crisis

Caregivers who find themselves involved with the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CAST) face a daunting set of challenges that can leave them feeling vulnerable, confused, and alone. For those with mental health issues, CMHA Toronto’s Healthy Families program offers supportive, non-judgmental counselling, case management, and referrals that help rebuild community, stability and strength.

A COMMUNITY FOR GRIEVERS: CMHA Toronto’s new grief support program

CMHA Toronto’s Grief Support Program provides compassionate and accessible support to people who have experienced loss. The pilot program is available to anyone in the community at no cost thanks to generous funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Psycho-educational workshops and professionally facilitated grief support groups targeted to the unique needs of different grievers provide a safe space for individuals to navigate their grief journey.

Frontline Support & Systemic Change: Dealing with the Housing Crisis in Toronto

Homelessness is a chronic, rising health and humanitarian crisis in Canada’s largest city. Every night in Toronto, 12,000 people are estimated to sleep outdoors, in shelters, emergency respite centres, and in health and correctional facilities.1 Of these, 75 per cent are believed to contend with mental health or addiction challenges.

Home For Good

Home for Good, an innovative transitional housing program run by CMHA Toronto in partnership with the City of Toronto, offers safe, structured, and supportive living space to clients aged 50 and above moving from shelters, hospitals, or criminal justice institutions to permanent housing.

Community Building at 10 Glen Everest

10 Glen Everest is home to about 300 people, part of CMHA Toronto’s Housing First Scarborough / Strengthening Communities in Scarborough program. Lou Sevilla, Case Manager with Lived Experience in Housing First’s Intensive Case Management service, and Amandeep, a placement student, recently coordinated a fall wellness fair for residents, local agencies who support them, and representatives from across CMHA Toronto to gather together in community – sharing stories, information, and fellowship.

Brave New World: Evolving Governance at CMHA Toronto

Nadine Reid is the newly appointed chair of CMHA Toronto’s board of directors. She steps into the role as the agency, grounded in a legacy of service, makes a momentous, sector-leading shift to a future founded on equity.

Celebrating Our Most Admired Corporate Culture and Leadership

At CMHA Toronto, we are proud to share that we have been recognized as one of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures by Waterstone Human Capital. This award honours organizations that foster a workplace culture built on trust, innovation, and a deep commitment to making a positive impact. For CMHA Toronto, this recognition reflects the collective dedication, resilience, and compassion that our staff bring to their work every day.

The Newest Tool in CMHA Toronto’s Counselling Toolkit: Family Intervention Therapy

For families with a loved one living with schizophrenia or another serious mental health issue, navigating support and finding the right care can be challenging. CMHA Toronto is piloting a new approach to help families tackle what is most often a long-term and complex situation that can affect every area of family life. Family Intervention Therapy (FIT) includes the client and their immediate loved ones in a process that teaches new ways of communicating and relating that help people move forward together.

The state of mental health in Canada: Ground-breaking CMHA report reveals troubling trends

A first-of-its-kind report from the national Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) provides an in-depth look at the mental health system in Canada—with all its cracks and failings— and how people are faring in every province and territory. What it reveals is troubling.

PAYING IT FORWARD: The Cameron-Lurie and Steve Lurie bursaries are stepping stones to the future

CMHA Toronto’s two bursary programs are unique ways to make a meaningful contribution to further clients’ hopes and dreams, and, for staff, to foster professional development. Learn more about the CMHA clients and staff who have been awarded bursaries this year and what it means to them.

Finding Strength, Gaining Support and Having Fun: My Journey with CMHA Toronto

Deborah Bakare shares her first-hand account of working with the EPI program team to forge a path to recovery, employment and, not least of all, the social connections that helped her get well and stay positive as she takes care of her mental health.

Navigating Early Psychosis

When symptoms of psychosis emerge, often in the late teen years or early adulthood, it can be a terrifying and bewildering experience that disrupts crucial developmental milestones like finishing school, starting a career, and forming relationships. Learn more about the innovative ways that CMHA Toronto’s Early Psychosis Intervention program offers youth and their families the support and tools necessary to navigate these challenges.

Anti-Oppression Primer: Essential Background Info, Terms & Concepts

The Opening Doors Project’s workshops is grounded in anti-racist theory and practices that are helpful for all of us who believe it important to address power and privilege as a means to bring about a more equitable world. Drawing on TOPD’s course materials and other sources, we hope this primer serves as a starting point for reflections and conversations as we deepen our understanding of and commitment to equity and anti-oppression.

Opening Doors: Newcomers claim their rights and regain their health

Systemic discrimination and racism is at the root of the significant mental and physical health impacts that newcomers to Canada experience. Practising with an anti-oppression lens, CMHA Toronto’s Opening Doors Project gives newcomers the language and skills to claim their rights and regain their health.

Supporting Humber College learners: Insights from clinicians

CMHA Toronto’s Tony Gordinho and Laura Viti staffed the Humber College drop-in mental health support program during the busy 2024 spring term. Inspired to get involved by their own days as students, they learned about the complex issues today’s learners face and had the opportunity to practice clinical skills they don’t always get to use in their day-to-day roles.

CMHA Toronto goes to school: Collaborating for student mental health

An innovative partnership between CMHA Toronto and Humber College provided in-the-moment mental health care for Humber learners during a pilot that ran from February to April 2024. The partnership also pointed at new directions for a community of care that spans a broader spectrum of support than either organization can offer on its own.

Crisis response with an Indigenous lens

In November 2023 the City of Toronto green lit city-wide expansion of the Toronto Community Crisis Service. Catch up with Painted Sky, a crisis worker and Indigenous specialist with TCCS, and learn more about how his own Indigeneity informs his work, and why it’s important to practice with an Indigenous lens to best serve Indigenous people who are facing mental health challenges in Toronto.

Truth & Reconciliation at CMHA Toronto

In 2019, CMHA Toronto’s Health Equity Coordinator approached Terry Pariseau with an idea. She and other staff had attended San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety training and wanted to set up a Truth & Reconciliation Committee. They believed that Terry, a member of Bear Clan from Mahingan Sagaigan (Wolf Lake First Nation), was one of the best people to help establish it.

Mental Health Week 2024 sparks compassion at CMHA Toronto

The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Toronto celebrated a vibrant and high-impact Mental Health Week from May 6 to 12, with the theme “Compassion Connects – A Call to Be Kind.” The week engaged the community through a series of events and activities aimed at promoting the power of compassion.

A day in the life of a Hospitals to Home case manager

Hear from CMHA Toronto’s Hospitals to Homes (H2H) case managers Ezhil Souparamnian, Jeev Param and Varun Midha who speak about their unique role providing rapid access to resources and service navigation for clients leaving hospital and returning to their communities after mental health treatment.

Easing the transition from hospital to home

For those hospitalized with mental health concerns, an abrupt discharge may leave them unsure of what type of community supports are available or how to access them. Enter Hospitals to Homes (H2H): an innovative program developed by CMHA Toronto and Scarborough Health Network that provides rapid case management, usually within 48 hours of discharge, helping to ease the transition from the hospital to a well-supported return to home and community.

7 reasons why volunteering is good for our mental health

You will often hear therapists and counsellors suggest that “one of the best ways to help ourselves is to help others.” There’s solid evidence that shows volunteering to be good for our overall mental health. Lara Fruitman, RSW, an employment support worker with CMHA Toronto, summarizes the reasons why, in addition to the good it does in our communities, volunteering is also a boon for our individual mental health.

In conversation with Murray Segal

Murray Segal, former Deputy Attorney General of Ontario, has served on CMHA Toronto’s board of directors since 2015. Now approaching the end of his term, he spoke with us about why he was motivated to volunteer with CMHA Toronto, some of CMHA Toronto’s key achievements during his tenure, and why he would encourage other leaders to consider volunteering.

Running for mental health with marathoner Kalil Magtoto

Kalil Magtoto recovered from his own mental and physical health challenges by putting “one foot in front of the other” – literally. While training for his first half-marathon, he rekindled his commitment to raising awareness of men’s mental health and discovered that running in community is a powerful catalyst for personal and social change.

On Routes: Reflections from a peer facilitator and a member on the vital role of the Routes community centre

Join Dorothy Leroux, peer facilitator, and Aaron Smith, member, who share their reflections on Routes and why it’s grown to be a vital source of connection, camaraderie, and hope for each of them.

CMHA Toronto is honoured to be a 2023 recipient of the Nonprofit Employer of Choice Award

CMHA Toronto is honoured to be one of 22 organizations from across Canada to receive the 2023 Nonprofit Employer of Choice Award.

Connecting with community at Routes

In a North York neighbourhood known more for its home reno centres than its community centres is a CMHA Toronto hub for wellness and recovery: Routes. Learn more about this safe, inclusive, peer-focused space that exists to create community and foster better mental health for people across the GTA.

The Push-Up Challenge was a huge success – thanks to YOU!

At CMHA Toronto we were proud to have 1500 legends pushing for mental health, who collectively raised more than $115,000 to support much-needed community-based mental health services in Toronto.

Support at court: Connecting people facing criminal charges with mental health treatment

CMHA Toronto’s Mental Health Court Support service connects people facing criminal charges with mental health treatment—making sure they have access to appropriate care and, in many cases, helping them avoid a criminal record.

Top tips for better mental health from CMHA Toronto therapists

As we make our way through what has felt like a long winter, we asked some of CMHA Toronto’s clinical staff to offer practical advice to improve and sustain good mental health.

An unequal burden: The pandemic experiences of Latin Americans in Toronto

A new study co-led by CMHA Toronto and Wellesley Institute explores the unique health inequities experienced by Spanish-speaking Latin Americans in Toronto during the pandemic and recommends specific policy changes needed to address them.

Celebrating Black Canadians this February

This February, CMHA Toronto along with many other Canadians, will be honouring Black Canadians for Black History Month. We recognize and celebrate their achievements and reflect on their successes, sacrifices and triumphs.

Mental Health in Politics: Creating Healthier Spaces for Change-makers

From 24/7 schedules to constant public scrutiny to the rising risk of verbal and physical violence, working in politics can take a toll on people’s health. This past November, CMHA Toronto teamed up with Apathy is Boring and Nominee to further the conversation about mental health in politics and engage political representatives, staff, and social change-makers in ways they can take care of themselves while working to make the world a better place for all of us.

A day in the life of an employment support worker

We sat down with Ashleigh Rice, an employment support worker at CMHA Toronto, to learn more about the Employment Program and how employment can advance recovery.

Kick the Winter Blues

With winter well underway, take a moment and make mental well-being your top priority. Increase your hours of natural light to keep your mood up. Learn how you can help beat the winter blues.

In conversation with Carol Landaverde

Carol, a CMHA Toronto Addictions Services client, generously shared the story of her cannabis addiction and concurrent bipolar disorder, and how the skills, support and connection she got through CMHA Toronto helped her get sober.

Inside CMHA Toronto’s Addiction Services

The number of people struggling with addictions is growing, and CMHA Toronto’s Addictions Services are growing to meet that need. Hear more from April Trewhitt, RP, who speaks about how important it is that CMHA Toronto, as one of Canada’s largest community mental health providers, has evidence-based and accessible addiction services that support both mental health and addictions issues.

Paying it forward with Rayhan Hossain

Starting with his own placement over a decade ago, Rayhan Hossain, RP, has held multiple positions with the agency and has hosted students of his own – several of whom, like Rayhan, were getting their footing not just in their careers but in Canada. Read more about the win-win-win of the student placement program: for students, for supervisors and for CMHA Toronto.

Unwrapping the magic of CMHA Toronto’s Holiday Gift Program

Recognizing the difficulties their clients may face over the holidays, Scarborough Health Network (SHN) has been a long-term partner of CMHA Toronto’s holiday gift program. Nicole Kitchen, a residential counsellor with SHN, shared her thoughts about the impact the program has on the people who receive gifts like Christine, and those, like her, who give them.

CMHA Toronto’s Holiday Gift Program: Spreading belonging, joy and lifting spirits

CMHA Toronto’s holiday gift program has been spreading joy and lifting spirits for more than 50 years. The program’s gifts are more than just presents: they’re messages of hope, care, and belonging for those who may feel forgotten at what is often a difficult time of year. Learn more.

Right care, right time, right place for people diagnosed with schizophrenia

In a fragmented health care system, Scarborough Health Network, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, and the Durham and Toronto branches of the Canadian Mental Health Association have come together to reduce inefficiencies and prevent people from falling through the gaps. Read more about how the collaboration is aligning practitioners around a best-practice approach to care for people diagnosed with schizophrenia, their families, and their care teams.

The drug poisoning crisis in Ontario and the need for harm reduction

Ontario is grappling with a deepening drug poisoning crisis. The harms related to unregulated opioids have seen a sharp uptick, with more emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and fatal overdoses. Harm reduction, an approach endorsed by Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, is an evidence-based strategy for addressing this crisis.

Coming together for digital equity

Black Creek Community Health Centre is the newest community partner agency to join CMHA Toronto’s Virtual Community Care Hubs. The program is not only increasing the impact and reach of BCCHC’s virtual diabetes management services, it’s also improving their clients’ digital literacy and, with that, digital equity for underserved communities in northeast Toronto.

Virtual Community Care Hubs: Helping more people click through to care

Since the pandemic, going virtual has represented a convenient, low- or no-cost way for many people to access health services and enabled more people connect to the care they need. CMHA Toronto’s Virtual Community Care Hubs (VCCHs) have evolved to serve this need and continue to grow with new technology, new content, and new community partners.

The Rehabilitation Action Program: Building trust with common language and culture

Fadumo Ibrahim, case manager, spoke with us about CMHA Toronto’s Rehabilitation Action Program, a culturally and linguistically focused community-based program for Afghan, Somali and Tamil people living with serious mental illness like bipolar or schizophrenia. \

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

Wear Your Art On Your Sleeve

On the Housing First Team at CMHA Toronto we believe that housing is a human right. When someone has access to stable and secure housing their life changes dramatically. We believe that having a place to call home allows for people to flourish and grow, work on recovery goals, and make plans and hopes for the future. Through artistic pursuits,

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.

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