Asking for help isn’t easy–especially if you’ve never spoken openly about your mental health. However, if you are having difficulty performing daily tasks or maintaining a regular routine, it may be time to seek support. Alexis Stern, a Nurse Case Manager at CMHA Toronto, put together a list of crisis resources that you can skip to here. Please note that you should call 911 for immediate support. You can request the mobile crisis team for mental health emergencies. If available, this team will send out a specialized mental health nurse and specialized mental health police officer to provide additional support. If you or someone you know needs mental health and/or substance use crisis support, here is a list of 15 resources that you can access for free, right now.
1. Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS)
Contact: Call 211 Hours: Sunday-Friday 24 hours a day; Closed on Saturdays Website: www.toronto.ca
The Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) is a new, alternate approach to responding to someone in crisis that focuses on health, prevention and well-being. The service provides an alternative to police enforcement, creating a community-based, client centred, trauma-informed response to non-emergency crisis calls and wellness checks.
This service aims to respond to the needs and desires of the communities most impacted by policing and establish trust and confidence in a new community-based response model.
The Toronto Community Crisis Service supports individuals 16 years of age and older, the service hours of operation and area are provided below.
2. Gerstein Crisis Centre
Contact: 416-929-5200 Hours: 24 hour phone call support Website: gersteincentre.org The Gerstein crisis services include 24/7 telephone support, in-person mobile crisis team, community support referrals, substance use crisis management, follow-up and access to short-term crisis beds.
3. Distress Centres of Greater Toronto
Contact: 416-408-4357 or text 45645 Hours: 24 hour phone call support Website: www.dcogt.com Since 1967, Distress Centres of Greater Toronto has provided 24-hour support, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to individuals in our community at risk and their most vulnerable. They are Canada’s oldest volunteer delivered crisis, emotional support and suicide prevention + intervention + postvention service agency.
Their crisis and emotional distress services are available via hotline chat and text. Their multi-lingual services offer support in seven languages (Mandarin, Cantonese, Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Portuguese, Spanish). Their Traumatic Loss program offers virtual/face-to-face individual counselling as well as group support to those who have lost a loved one to suicide or homicide and are navigating the aftermath. Their Touching Base and Senior Support Programs offer vulnerable seniors and youth with medical medication/appointment reminders, mental wellness check-ins and social supports to combat isolation.
4. Progress Place Warm Line
Contact: Call 416-960-WARM (9276)
or text 647-557-5882 Hours: 3pm to Midnight, 7 days a week Website: www.warmline.ca
The Warm Line is a confidential & anonymous service for adults (18+). Are you feeling lonely, isolated, anxious, depressed or in need of a friendly ear? Chat online, text or call a Warm Line peer support worker.
5. Assaulted Women’s Helpline
Contact: GTA: 416-863-0511
Toll-free: 1-866-863-0511
#SAFE (#7233) on your Bell, Rogers, Fido or Telus mobile phone
Seniors Safety Line: 1-866-299-1011 Hours: 24 hours a day Website: https://www.awhl.org/
Safe space anytime to support, listen, guide women who have experienced any type of abuse anywhere in Ontario. To provide free, confidential and anonymous crisis counselling, emotional support, information and referrals via telephone in up to 200+ languages from a feminist perspective. AWHL is committed to exploring new technologies to address the service delivery needs of the women we help.
6. Kids Help Phone
Contact: 1-800-668-6868 24 or text 686868 Hours: 24 hours a day Website: kidshelpphone.ca Kids Help Phone’s e-mental health services are available 24/7 across Canada. This means that they’re there for kids, teens and young adults from coast to coast to coast.
7. Anishnawbe Mental Health Crisis Management Services
Contact: 416-891-8606 Hours: 24 hours a day 24/7 crisis line and support services for Aboriginal People based on Traditional practices, including support from Traditional Healers, Elders, and Medicine People.
8. Telehealth Ontario
Contact: 1-866-797-0000 Hours: 24 hours a day Website: www.ontariohealth.ca/contact-us Telehealth Ontario is a free, confidential service you can call to get health advice or information. A Registered Nurse will take your call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This service is: confidential – you may be asked to provide your health card number, but it is not required; provided in both English and French, with translation support for some other languages; free for all users.
9. Connex Ontario
Contact: 1-866-531-2600 Text CONNEX to 247247 Hours: 24 hours a day Website: www.connexontario.ca/en-ca/ Free, confidential health services information for people with alcohol or other substance use concerns and/or people with mental health or gambling issues.
10. Crisis Services Canada
Contact: 1-833-456-4566 Text 45645 Hours: 24 hours a day Text support from 4pm-midnight Website: talksuicide.ca Talk Suicide Canada provides nationwide, 24-hour, bilingual support to anyone who is facing suicide. If you are in a moment of crisis, struggling to understand or cope with suicidal thoughts, or worried about someone else, when you reach out, a trained responder will listen without judgement, provide support and understanding, and can tell you about resources that will help.
11. Wood Green Crisis Outreach Service for Seniors
Contact: 416-217-2077 Hours: 9 - 5PM Website: www.woodgreen.org/programs/crisis-outreach-service-for-seniors Our mobile crisis response team is led by social workers who provide crisis counselling, short-term intensive case management, harm reduction and concurrent disorder services, mental health and addictions support, and health assessments and referrals. The service is available daily from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
12. Toronto Rape Crisis Centre
Contact: 416-597-8808 Hours: 24 hours a day Website: trccmwar.ca
A trained and experienced peer counsellor is available to speak with any and all survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and their supporters, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The TRCC/MWAR is a survivor-centered, survivor-led organization. They work from an anti-oppression, anti-racist, intersectional feminist framework. Their counsellors are here to listen to you, hold space, and offer emotional support.
13. LGBT Youth Line
Contact: 1-800-268-9688 Text 647-694-4275 Hours: Sunday to Friday; 4 pm – 9:30 pm Website: www.youthline.ca
Youth Line offers confidential and non-judgemental peer support through our telephone, text and chat services. LGBT YouthLine is a 2SLGBTQI+ youth-led organization that affirms and supports the experiences of youth (29 and under) across Ontario.
They do this by: providing anonymous peer support and referrals; training youth to provide support to other youth; and providing resources so youth can make informed decisions.
14. Trans Lifeline (Transgender Crisis Hotline)
Contact: 1-877-330-6366 Hours: Daily 10 am – 4 am Website: translifeline.org Trans Lifeline is a trans-led organization that connects trans people to the community, support, and resources they need to survive and thrive. Trans Lifeline’s Hotline is a peer support phone service run by trans people for our trans and questioning peers. Call us if you need someone trans to talk to, even if you’re not in crisis or if you’re not sure you’re trans.
15. Safe Bed Toronto
Contact: 416-248-4174
Hours: 24 hours a day Website: toronto.cmha.ca/programs-services/safebeds
If in need of temporary shelter for individuals with mental health or criminal justice involvement24 hours a day
***If you are looking for longer term mental health support, contact the Access Point for case management and housing assistance:
Phone: 416-640-1934