MEDIA RELEASE
(Newmarket, ON – August 3, 2021) – The Canadian Mental Health Association York Region and South Simcoe (CMHA-YRSS) ramped up its virtual services during the pandemic thanks to a $39,000 Resilient Communities Fund grant that it received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) in late 2020. The grant was used to purchase technology equipment and licenses to expand virtual delivery of mental health services for clients.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental health and wellbeing of people in York Region and South Simcoe, and across the province,” said Christine Elliott, MPP for Newmarket-Aurora. “Through the Ontario Trillium Foundation, our government is proud to support the Canadian Mental Health Association York Region and South Simcoe to offer virtual services to ensure our community can continue to access supports when and where they need them most.”
The OTF grant enabled CMHA-YRSS to purchase computer notebooks, tablets, accessories and Zoom licenses to expand virtual services for clients. It also helped with the costs of design, development and deployment of a Covid Checker mobile app to provide contact tracing and adherence to on-premise COVID-19 health and safety requirements.
“The pandemic has required and inspired us to do more for our clients,” said El-Noor Rashid, Senior Director, Digital Strategy and Experience for CMHA-YRSS. “Empowered by the OTF’s grant, CMHA expanded our service offerings to provide more clients with virtual mental health programs ensuring we could support them through the pandemic and beyond.”
About Canadian Mental Health Association
Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is a not-for-profit, charitable organization. Our vision is a society that embraces and invests in the mental health of all people. CMHA has 28 local branches across Ontario, and together with community-based mental health and addictions service providers across the province, serve approximately 500,000 Ontarians each year.
Last year, CMHA York Region and South Simcoe served more than 42,000 clients. To find out more about the work of the Canadian Mental Health Association York Region and South Simcoe, go to www.cmha-yr.on.ca.
About The Ontario Trillium Foundation: The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. Last year, nearly $112M was invested into 1,384 community projects and partnerships to build healthy and vibrant communities and strengthen the impact of Ontario’s non-profit sector. In 2020/21, OTF supported Ontario’s economic recovery by helping non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Visit otf.ca to learn more.
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Media Contact: communications@cmha-yr.on.ca
