The Amethyst Women’s Addiction Centre opened its doors in 1979, and was the first addiction treatment centre of its kind in Canada. The Centre works with diverse and marginalized groups of women to support them, individually and together, to take control of factors affecting their health and well-being. Amethyst aspires to equality and justice for all women and provides prevention services as well as direct service to women in our community.

Causeway Work Centre transforms lives and fuels community economic development in the Ottawa region through an integrated network of innovative training and employment programs, one-on-one support, cross-sector partnerships and by creating socially minded businesses. Causeway began in 1977 as an organization focused on assisting people with mental health issues find employment. Over the years, Causeway has expanded its activities and impact through an ongoing commitment to innovation. Through this commitment, Causeway has been able to support a broader spectrum of disadvantaged people, pilot new ventures that address community needs, and become a recognized leader in the area of social enterprise. 

The Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre is Eastern Ontario’s only non-profit, residential and community-based agency dedicated to helping youth ages 13-21 overcome substance abuse issues and other related challenges to achieve a healthier lifestyle. The Centre recognizes the high correlation between substance misuse and mental health conditions, and provides psychiatric consultation and assessment to its residential and aftercare clients.

On November 13, 2010, 14-year-old Daron Richardson died by suicide. From this tragedy came a movement to transform youth mental health. Spearheaded by Daron’s parents Luke and Stephanie Richardson, who decided to transform their very private pain into a public call-to-action, a decision was made to support young people who suffer in silence from the pain and stigma of mental illness. Supported by the energy and efforts of dozens of Daron’s close friends and classmates, a grassroots movement was formed with the mission of creating awareness, inspiring conversations, and transforming youth mental health. Do It For Daron (DIFD) encourages young people to talk openly about mental illness and to ask for help when needed. DIFD provides young people, their parents, teachers, coaches and other adult role models with the resources, outlets and, most importantly, courage to overcome the shame and fear of discussing mental illness. The purple DIFD heart, a creation inspired by Daron’s favourite colour, has become the youth-driven symbol of this movement. It is a visual reminder that only love and awareness, not hiding in the shadows, can combat youth mental illness.

The Royal is one of Canada’s foremost mental health care and academic health science centres, combining the delivery of specialized mental health care, advocacy, research and education to transform the lives of people with complex and treatment-resistant mental illness. They provide services that include inpatient, outpatient, partial hospitalization, day hospital, assertive community treatment, outreach and mental health rehabilitation.

 Wabano is Objibwe for “new beginnings”. In the past decade, the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health has become an award-winning health care facility in Canada, garnering international recognition. Wabano provides professional services and cultural events to over 10,000 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in our community. Their mental health team provides holistic and culturally relevant services to individuals and families, including psychotherapeutic services, addictions counselling, and a crisis line.

The Queensway Carleton Hospital has been providing inpatient, outpatient and emergency mental health services through its Mental Health Program since prior to opening its doors in 1976.  This often comes as a surprise to the people who know QCH for its many other cornerstone health care services.  QCH’s Mental Health Program is the sole provider of acute mental health services in west Ottawa serving a population of over 450,000.  It operates a 24 bed inpatient unit as well as day treatment programs, assessments, emergency consultations, inpatient liaison and mental health outreach clinics in the Ottawa Valley.  Due to an unrelenting increase in the number of adults of all ages requiring acute mental health care services, QCH’s Mental Health Program urgently needs to transform its space and the care it delivers to meet the needs of the communities it serves.  HOPES RISING is a campaign inspired by the hopes of families throughout our community to enhance QCH acute mental health services for adults of all ages in the greater Ottawa region.  Through its success, this campaign will help Queensway Carleton Hospital deliver the right mental health care, at the right time, by the right people and in the right setting. We hope you’ll join us.