We have updated our Birchmount Hospital phone lines. When you call through the main line (416-495-2400), you will need to add “7” when dialing an extension.

Community Mental Health Programs

SHN provides mental health care services within the community to support people with mental health conditions to live more stable and independent lives.

Assertive Community Treatment

The Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team at SHN is comprised of mental health care professionals who provide patient-centered, highly individualized treatment, support, and rehabilitation to individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. ACT is distinguished by its interprofessional team approach and for providing treatment in the community.

The ACT team’s goals are to:

  • Facilitate the community living and psychosocial rehabilitation of individuals experiencing mental illness
  • Lessen or eliminate the debilitating symptoms of mental illness each individual client experiences and to minimize or prevent recurrent acute episodes of the illness
  • Meet basic needs and enhance quality of life
  • Improve functioning in adult social and employment roles and activities
  • Increase community tenure
  • Support families

Housing Programs

SHN offers two housing programs to provide safe, affordable, and supportive housing for patients with serious mental illness and who have been, or are about to become, homeless.

25 Neilson

This 30-unit residential complex provides housing and care to people with mental illness, allowing many of them to get off the streets, or out of sub-standard housing. The housing complex is located in Scarborough, nearby SHN Centenary hospital.

This program is the result of a unique partnership between all three levels of government—the federal government’s Supportive Community Partnerships (SCPI) initiative, the City of Toronto, which provided leased land; and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, which contributed initial funding.

On-site residential counsellors at 25 Neilson provide rehabilitation counselling and life-skills training for day-to-day activities, such as banking and cooking. Additionally, partnerships with the Canadian Mental Health Association, Jewish Vocational Services, and Toronto Public Health, enable the delivery of a wide variety or supportive programming. This includes peer and addiction support, job coaching, wellness, and smoking cessation, all of which help these residents to successfully live independently. Residents here are able to receive clinical care at SHN for a variety of mental health issues.

Gatesview House

Located on a quiet, residential street, Gatesview House offers permanent supportive housing for the seriously men­tally ill, who would often otherwise be homeless. It looks like any other family home and has been accepted into the neighborhood, because SHN’s staff have kept the community informed and involved in its development.

The house accommodates six adults—each with his/her own room, while sharing common areas, including the kitchen and living room. While turnover of patients is not frequent, people do make progress, become more independent, and move on.

Patients are referred to Gatesview by a physician, caseworker or from hostels. For more information, please call 416-208-0131.

Pathways

Pathways is a social recreational program for adults with serious mental illness and offers psycho educational groups, work activity, health and wellness teaching, leisure activities and a medication clinic.

For more information, please call 416-208-0131.