Expansion of mental health crisis support team being considered by Toronto council

Toronto’s mental health crisis teams are one step closer to receiving funding for an expansion with a goal of providing a community-led response to mental health crisis 911 calls.

When the crisis support service is running, a mobile support team of civilian’s will be deployed instead of police officers if the case warrants. The teams feature community health nurses, harm reduction workers and crisis counselors.

According to city staff, the service will launch in two phases. The first is set to kick off next month in Toronto’s northeast and eastern-downtown areas. Officials expect the program to expand to western downtown and the city’s northwest by June 2022.

Mayor John Tory says the program’s four pilot projects are fully funded for 2022 at a cost of over $8.5 million.

On Wednesday, Tory’s executive committee approved a motion to look at the cost of expanding the pilot project to more areas of the city. If the report is approved by city council next week, staff will look at expanding the list of four community partners the city is currently working with. Staff are also being instructed to inform council on the budgetary impacts of expanding the program.

The crisis support service pilot project was unanimously approved by council in February, 2021 after city staff were asked to develop a non-police led alternative to mental health 911 calls. The city says one of the four pilot projects will be Indigenous-led, “to advance the City’s commitments to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Calls for Justice.”

According to the city, the initiative will also provide case management and follow up supports. That includes primary healthcare services, referrals to specialists and trauma counselling.

The city says it will work with a third party to “develop an outcomes and evaluation framework, as well as reporting guidelines”. According to staff, the data collected from these pilots will be used to create the expansion plan.

City-wide implementation of the crisis support teams is expected by 2025 at the latest.