Partnerships in practice
Partnerships are effective, and a number of examples from across the country illustrate collaborative success. The following promising partnerships support the mental health and well-being of immigrants and/or refugees:
Service collaboratives
The Provincial Systems Support Program (PSSP) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health works with partners from a variety of sectors in communities across Ontario to transform and improve the mental health system. PSSP supports local agencies and governmental departments by focusing on change management and moving communities through the stages of planning, trying, studying and normalizing to make large-scale, sustainable improvements. Through the service collaboratives, PSSP and local partners have established networks and created real change that improves the lives of people in a number of communities.
For example, the City of Toronto launched mobile crisis response services to better support the community in responding to mental health crises. These units are being piloted and are available 24/7 with multilingual and multidisciplinary teams (e.g., community health nurses, crisis counsellors, harm reduction workers, peer workers). The Toronto Community Crisis Service can be reached by calling 211 or 911.
Promising practice
The Peel Collaborative recognized that young people from racialized and immigrant backgrounds were not reflected in the people who were seeking mental health care in their region. The collaborative decided on a few initiatives to address this issue, including Holistic Crisis Planning [anglais], which uses a strength-based and person-/family-centred personalized crisis planning process that meaningfully engages children, youth and their families. The process is specifically designed for guidance counsellors in the emergency department and at children's mental health agencies. Faith-based leaders from multiple organizations participated in an inaugural breakfast event was held by the Peel Service Collaborative and recommended a family-centered approach that takes into account generational differences. Faith leaders also determined that they require more training in mental health to better equip them with the necessary tools and knowledge when dealing with individuals facing mental health. They also recommended working on a common understandable mental health language to better promote mental health and push against stigmatization.
Local immigration partnerships (LIPs)
LIPs are multi-sectoral planning tables that are located regionally or municipally across the country. They are designed to strengthen local capacity to support settlement and integration of immigrants into communities. LIPS are funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and operate through formal agreements. They provide a number of services to newcomers in their communities, including knowledge and material on access to employment, settlement services and health services. In some instances, LIPs have successfully worked across sectors to conduct research and implement mental health support programs.
Promising practice
The Ottawa LIP played a key role in the creation of the Ottawa Newcomer Health Centre (ONHC), a community-based health centre that provides culturally relevant health and mental health services to Government Assisted Refugees (GARs). The ONHC recently expanded services to Privately Sponsored Refugees (PSRs) and claimants, and is operated under a partnership between Somerset West Community Health Centre and the Catholic Centre for Immigrants.