How the province is responding to widespread need for mental health services
One Stop Talk is a virtual walk-in program for children, youth, and families seeking low-barrier access to mental healthcare. The program started in November 2022 with six participating mental health organisations, and the province is now investing $4.75 million to expand it.
The program aims to make it “easier and more convenient for children and youth across the province to access mental healthcare,” offering “modern, convenient options,” according to Sylvia Jones, Ontario’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. The service offers phone, video, text, and chat options, although the website only shows the online chat button and phone number. Counselling is available without an appointment from 12-8 pm Monday to Friday and 12-4 pm on Saturdays for single-session support and referral to additional services.
The provincial government also plans to expand the number of Youth Wellness Hubs from 14 to 22 across the province. The hubs are a ‘one-stop shop’ for a range of services including mental health, substance use, vocational, and housing support for youth ages 12-25. Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) is led by Dr. Joanna Henderson from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and is supported by the CAMH Foundation, the Graham Boeckh Foundation, as well as government funds and private donors. Individual hubs work with local stakeholders to provide the right resources to their communities.
The Central Toronto YWHO location is near Yonge and Eglinton and offers a variety of services. The studio offers weekly events such as harm reduction drop-ins and 2SLGBTQ+ exclusive nights, as well as a closed peer support and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy skills group. Walk-in services are available both in-person and virtually for mental health counselling, primary care, navigation, and employment and housing support. Therapists specifically for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people are also available.
The new hubs are funded by Ontario’s Addictions Recovery Fund, which launched in 2022. Two years earlier, the province released its Roadmap to Wellness Plan, which aims to improve the province’s mental health and addictions system and funds the One Stop Talk service.
The need for mental health services is a growing crisis across the province and the country, with many pointing to the pandemic as a cause of both increased demand and decreased health care resources available. Just last month, then-Toronto mayor John Tory called for a national summit to address this, stating that “when the federal and provincial governments don’t fully and adequately fund mental health care, the responsibility is offloaded to ill-equipped municipalities across Canada.” Data from 2020 to 2021, showed Canadians waiting months to book a single mental health appointment. In 2020, there was an increase in overdose deaths and substance-related harm due to an increase in mental health and substance use challenges, combined with gaps in care created by the pandemic response.
Some remain sceptical about the Roadmap to Wellness plan. The plan focuses on improving fast and convenient access to counselling services to address the long wait times many are experiencing. However, the focus on internet-based counselling and short-term therapy (patients seeking psychotherapy for depression or anxiety may qualify for 12-16 weeks of cognitive behavioural therapy) raises some concerns for those who require more long-term support.
The government’s Roadmap to Wellness website includes a timeline for strategy implementation beginning in 2020, with highlights including the new Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence and the launch and expansion of the Structured Psychotherapy Program. The roadmap is meant to be implemented over the course of ten years, though no updates have been added since early 2021.
Services mentioned in this article, as well as additional community supports, can be accessed via the links below:
One Stop Talk
www.onestoptalk.ca
855-416-8255/TALK
Toronto Youth Wellness Hub
www.youthhubs.ca/en/sites/central-toronto
40 Orchard View Blvd
416-482-0081 ext. 5
[email protected]
Strides Toronto
www.stridestoronto.ca
416-438-3697
416-321-5464
[email protected]
Across Boundaries
www.acrossboundaries.ca/
416-787-3007 ext. 222
Family Services Toronto
www.familyservicetoronto.org
416-595-9618
Gerstein Crisis Centre
www.gersteincentre.org
416-929-5200
LGBT Youth Line
www.youthline.ca
1-800-268-9688
Text: 647-694-4275
Anishnawbe Health Toronto
www.aht.ca
179 Gerrard St E
416-920-2605
