Across Boundaries Competitors

Addictions and Mental Health Ontario (AMHO) represents over 150 organizations that provide front line substance use, addiction and mental health support and services. Some of this work takes place in hospitals, such as the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene and the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences in Whitby, but most are community-based providers like Thunder Bay Counselling and Sandy Hill Community Health Centre in Ottawa. AMHO members are on the ground in communities across the province, supporting Ontarians through their addiction/substance use and mental health challenges with community-based treatment, counselling, structured psychotherapy, case management, withdrawal management services, peer support, family support, harm reduction supports and supportive housing.

The Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committees (HSJCCs) were established in response to a recognized need to coordinate resources and services, and plan more effectively for people who are in conflict with the law. Priority consideration is for people with a serious mental illness, developmental disability, acquired brain injury, drug and alcohol addiction, and/or fetal alcohol syndrome. The committees were generated as a cooperative effort between the Ministries of the Attorney General, Community and Social Services, Children and Youth Services, Health and Long-Term Care, and Community Safety and Correctional Services. The two primary areas of emphasis for the committees are: to provide a planning table to bring together service providers to find solutions to the problem of the criminalization of people with the defined unique needs, and; to develop a model of shared responsibility and accountability in dealing with this group of individuals at points of intersection with the justice system. Regional committees were established to coordinate communication and service integration planning between health, criminal justice, and developmental service organizations within specific regions. Local committees provide input to these regional groups. The Provincial Committee, consisting of regional chairs and Ministry representatives, has been developed as a provincial planning body.

The community day treatment program offers structured counseling, educational and interactive activities and take-home assignments. The program is divided into three separate phases and is designed (although not exclusively) for individuals whose treatment goals may not include abstinence, but are nonetheless near the action stage of change towards achieving a more balanced lifestyle. Services are flexible and suitable for people who require more than a few hours of treatment weekly, but do not require, or are unable to enter residdential treatment services. Clients have the option of participating in one or more of the three phases of treatment.