TORONTO: A City of Toronto report being considered by the Executive Committee recommends the approval of four community safety and crisis support service pilots.
These pilot programs would allow for non-police led response for non-emergency, non-violent calls including those involving persons in crisis and for wellness checks.
The pilots respond to City Council’s direction to staff in June 2020 for changes to policing in Toronto and for the City Manager to develop a non-police led, alternative community safety response model for calls involving Toronto residents in crisis.
See: http://app.toronto.ca/ tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2020.CC22.2
If approved by Council, three pilots will be implemented in:
• northwest Toronto (Wards Etobicoke North, Etobicoke Centre, York Centre and Humber River-Black Creek),
• northeast Toronto (Wards Scarborough Southwest, Scarborough Centre, Scarborough-Agincourt, Scarborough North, Scarborough-Guildwood and Scarborough-Rouge Park) and
• Downtown East (Wards Spadina-Fort York and Toronto Centre) These areas are where apprehensions under the Mental Health Act and calls for people in crisis are the highest in Toronto. A fourth pilot will serve Indigenous communities, recognizing the history of Indigenous peoples and their negative experiences with policing. This pilot will be Indigenous-led and co-developed with Indigenous communities.
The pilots will work with health care providers, including community health centres and not-forprofit organizations that provide mental health and substance use services, to ensure user-centered care continues after the initial intervention. The pilots will create multidisciplinary teams of crisis workers with training in mental health and crisis intervention, de-escalation, situational awareness and field training, prior to the pilots’ launch.
After the initial crisis intervention, the service will provide follow-up care including case management, mental health counseling, substance use support and referrals. The pilots were developed using data and insights shared through 33 community roundtables, the Accountability Table (made up of community leaders to monitor and support development and implementation of community-led safety response models) and surveys conducted this past fall.
In two public surveys launched in October and November, thousands of respondents indicated the need for a community crisis support service for Toronto. The proposal includes a budget allocation of $1.7 million in 2021 to begin hiring, training and developing resources, such as determining how those in distress will reach the service.