Krishika Jethani –
On the first of May, downtown-based 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations launched a mental health crisis line for the Indigenous community, based in Toronto Police Divisions 51 and 52.
Saige McMahon, director of the Indigenous-led mental health crisis response team, said she hopes the community receives more support to culturally specific consent responses. “We wanted to give the community more options, so they don’t have to just call 911 or 211. They can directly call us, an agency that they know and have built trust with over the years.”
The Toronto Community Crisis Service provides alternative to police enforcement for communities experiencing mental health crises. Two years ago, Toronto City Council approved four community crisis pilot projects to test non-police responses.
The crisis service launched an Indigenous-led response pilot for 14 Division in July 2022, operating 24/7 year-round. Its main access is by calling 211; when community members call 911, operators dispatch the calls to 211, a more supportive mental health line.
About 4% of the Canadian population is Indigenous, but 37% of prisoners are Indigenous people.
McMahon said the service wanted to expand to give crisis support over the phone to Indigenous community members anywhere in the city. “This phone line allows us to engage with folks who are currently outside of our divisional mobile response area,” she said.
From 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., two staffers operate two phones. A mobile team has a minimum of two staff.
McMahon says the crisis response team is trained and trauma-informed in harm reduction and consent-based approaches. “86% of our team identifies as Indigenous and those who don’t identify as being part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community,” she said.
The Indigenous mental health crisis line is currently funded for one year, but McMahon hopes the pilot expansions will become more long term.
The line offers mobile response in police Divisions 14, 51 and 52, and a mental health crisis support line for Indigenous community members living in the GTA. The number operates 12 hours a day at 416-363-2999.
