Six community organizations join up to create innovative collaborative to support mental health during COVID-19
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Toronto, July 30th, 2020 – In order to better support the increasing mental health needs of Ontarians during COVID-19 and beyond, six community mental health organizations are pooling their resources to better serve their communities.
(ECM) – a community mental health partnership – brings together the Institute for Advancements in Mental Health (IAM), Community Family Services of Ontario (CFSO), Ontario Peer Development Initiative, Hope + Me – Mood Disorders Association of Ontario, Fred Victor and recently, the Ontario Brain Injury Association. ECM aims to empower and support communities impacted by mental health in the province. Sparked in response to the pandemic but sustained by a shared passion for people, the collaborative aims to provide a continuum of services to improve the lives of individuals and families impacted by mental health challenges, and those who are facing new distress sparked by COVID-19.
The organizations within ECM saw COVID-19 adding new challenges to the vulnerability of already marginalized populations, who already face negative mental health impacts of social isolation, housing insecurity, digital exclusion and economic instability.
“We have seen a drastic increase in the volume and complexity of concerns our community is facing including stress within families, poverty brought about by the current social crisis, addictions, mental health challenges and more,” says Anna V. Wong, Executive Director of Community Family Services of Ontario. Through the ECM initiative, the organizations are gearing to support increasing needs within the community.
“We needed to work together to amplify our community mental health response. In light of the pandemic, Empowering Community Minds (ECM) was created to pool resources across organizations and unite services to help more people,” says Mary Alberti, CEO, Institute for Advancements in Mental Health. “Through collaboration and sharing of resources, our partnership aims to fill gaps in access and services, creating healthier families and communities for all.”
The collaborative began expanding their services by offering support through online workshops in Mandarin and English for frontline workers in health, social services and mental health. Over this summer, ECM online webinars were delivered to over 350 people from all across Ontario so far, addressing key topics such as:
- Self-care and mental wellness for frontline health care staff
- Peer Support for People of Indigenous Heritage
- Peer Support 101 in Challenging Times
- Plan for Resilience: A Workshop for Front Line Workers
- Working with Hard to Reach Clients
ECM webinars were designed to provide skill development to build increased resilience for health care workers serving people in our communities impacted by mental health needs.