| Contact | acrossboundaries.ca |
| Information | Provides dignified, inclusive and compassionate mental health and addiction services for racialized communities around Toronto. Services include individual support, psychiatric consultation, addictions and wellness services, community outreach, support groups, alternative and complementary therapies, community kitchen, skills building, and social and recreational activities. An anti-racist, anti-Black racism, and anti-oppression framework is provided by staff from the communities they serve. |
| Service area | Ontario: Greater Toronto Area |
| Resource types | Online service, in-person service |
| Support types | Wellness support, addiction support |
| Target demographics | People of Colour (BIPOC populations), black population, racialized communities |
| Serves children (0–12) | Yes |
| Serves youth (13–17) | Yes |
| Serves adults (18+) | Yes |
| Serves families | — |
| Languages spoken | English 🍁, French ⚜️, Arabic 🇸🇦, Simplified Chinese 🇨🇳, Traditional Chinese 🇨🇳, Hindi 🇮🇳, Punjabi 🇮🇳 |
About this directory of supports
Navigating mental health support can be challenging during emergency situations, such as Canada's ongoing wildfires. This comprehensive guide aims to simplify that journey by providing a curated list of evidence-informed and free mental health and well-being resources available across Canada to all communities.
Whether you or your family members are in need of immediate assistance through crisis support, seeking ongoing wellness supports, requiring tools to help navigate further resources, or looking for counselling services, this resource list is designed to help you find the right support to maintain and enhance your mental well-being before, during, and after an emergency.
Although the majority of these resources are tailored to meet the needs of the broader community in Canada (adults, youth, children, and families), a smaller subset of these resources are tailored to specific occupational groups — including public safety personnel (PSP), health care providers (HCP), military members and Veterans — as well as to equity-deserving groups like Indigenous populations, BIPOC communities, and LGBTQ2SIA+ individuals.
Please select the resource that is best tailored to your own needs.
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Across Boundaries
Mental health and addiction support for racialized communities around Toronto
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Bereaved Families of Ontario (BFO)
Province-wide organization dedicated to bereavement support through peer support and mutual aid
Contact bereavedfamilies.net Information Province-wide organization dedicated to bereavement support through peer support and mutual aid. Services include support groups for bereaved parents, children who have lost a parent/sibling/caregiver, people whose partners have died, and others in need of grief support. Nine affiliates located throughout Ontario provide local support. Programming available in both official languages through Ottawa affiliate, with translation services for other languages. Service area Ontario Resource types In-person service, information Support types Bereavement services, grief support Target demographics General population, youth and families Serves children (0–12) Yes Serves youth (13–17) Yes Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves families Yes Language spoken English 🍁 -
Bereaved Families of Ontario: Toronto (BFO-Toronto)
Comprehensive grief support services for those who have lost a loved one — regardless of when, how, or who they lost
Contact bfotoronto.ca Information Comprehensive grief support services for those who have lost a loved one — regardless of when, how, or who they lost. Programs help participants find healthy perspectives, learn coping strategies for new life circumstances, process emotions, and build connections with others experiencing similar losses. Service area Ontario: Toronto Resource type In-person service Support types Grief support, bereavement services Target demographics General population, youth and families Serves children (0–12) Yes Serves youth (13–17) Yes Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves families Yes Language spoken English 🍁 -
Boots on the Ground Ontario
BOTG provides first responders and military members with an anonymous helpline wherein they can receive peer support
Contact 1 (833) 677-2668 Information BOTG provides first responders and military members with an anonymous helpline wherein they can receive peer support. Service area Ontario Resource type Telephone Support type Peer support Target demographic Public safety personnel Serves children (0–12) — Serves youth (13–17) — Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves families — Language spoken English 🍁 -
CAMH Youth-Vast Dependence Program
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s Youth-VAST Dependence Program provides in-person or virtual care to young people in Ontario
Contact wehearyou.ca Information The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health's Youth-VAST Dependence Program is a personalized youth addiction program. It provides in-person or virtual care to address many types of addiction – including nicotine (vaping is the V in VAST), alcohol, substances, and technology. Service area Ontario Resource types In-person service, online service Support type Addiction support Target demographic General population Serves children (0–12) Yes Serves youth (13–17) Yes Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves families — Languages spoken English 🍁, French ⚜️ -
CAMH: Metro Addiction Assessment & Referral Service (MAARS)
Centralized addiction assessment and referral service connecting individuals to appropriate treatment programs across the Greater Toronto Area
Contact (416) 535-8501 ext. 2 | camh.ca/en/patients-and-families/programs-and-services/metro-addiction-assessment-referral-service-maars Information Centralized addiction assessment and referral service connecting individuals to appropriate treatment programs across the Greater Toronto Area. Service area Ontario: Greater Toronto Area Resource type Assessment and referral Support types Wellness support, addiction support Target demographic General population Serves children (0–12) — Serves youth (13–17) — Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves families — Languages spoken French ⚜️, English 🍁 -
CAMH: Rainbow Services (2SLGBTQ+)
2SLGBTQ+ affirming in-person outpatient group therapy for substance use. Toronto only
Contact (416) 535-8501 ext. 2 | camh.ca/en/patients-and-families/programs-and-services/rainbow-services-2slgbtq Information 2SLGBTQ+ affirming in-person outpatient group therapy for substance use. Service area Ontario: Toronto Resource type Mental health agency Support types Wellness support, addiction support Target demographic LGBTQ2SIA+ population Serves children (0–12) Yes Serves youth (13–17) Yes Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves families — Languages spoken English 🍁, French ⚜️ -
Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario
CMHA has many mental health resources, services, and projects
Contact ontario.cmha.ca Information CMHA has many mental health resources, services, and projects. Service area Ontario Resource type Resource hub Support type Wellness support Target demographic General population Serves children (0–12) Yes Serves youth (13–17) Yes Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves families Yes Language spoken English 🍁 -
CMHA: LGBTQ-Identified People and Mental Health
Information and resources for mental health of the LGBTQ2SIA+ community
Contact ontario.cmha.ca/documents/lesbian-gay-bisexual-trans-queer-identified-people-and-mental-health Information Information and resources for mental health of the LGBTQ2SIA+ community. Service area Ontario Resource type Resource hub Support type Wellness support Target demographic LGBTQ2SIA+ population Serves children (0–12) Yes Serves youth (13–17) Yes Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves families Yes Language spoken English 🍁 -
ConnexOntario: Telephone
Provides service information for people experiencing problems with gambling, drugs, alcohol, or mental health, 24/7
Contact 1 (866) 531-2600 Information Provides service information for people experiencing problems with gambling, drugs, alcohol, or mental health, 24/7. Service area Ontario Resource type Telephone Support types Wellness support, addiction support Target demographic General population Serves children (0–12) — Serves youth (13–17) Yes Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves families — Languages spoken English 🍁, French ⚜️ -
Distress and Crisis Ontario
Offers in-person centres that operate 24/7, mental health helplines, and support services for Ontarians
Contact dcontario.org Information Offers in-person centres that operate 24/7, mental health helplines, and support services for Ontarians. Service area Ontario Resource types Online service, in-person service, telephone Support type Crisis support Target demographic General population Serves children (0–12) Yes Serves youth (13–17) Yes Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves families Yes Language spoken English 🍁 -
Distress Centres of Greater Toronto
Comprehensive support program for individuals who have lost someone to suicide or homicide
Contact (416) 408-4357 | dcogt.com/survivors-of-suicide-and-homicide-loss Information Professionally trained grief facilitators, many with lived experience of suicide or homicide losses, provide care in a safe, compassionate, and judgment-free environment. Program addresses short and long-term impacts of traumatic loss including social and mental health impacts. Service area Ontario: Greater Toronto Area Resource types Online service, in-person service, telephone Support types Grief support, bereavement services Target demographics General population, youth and families Serves children (0–12) Yes Serves youth (13–17) Yes Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves families Yes Language spoken English 🍁