We have delivered a ‘made in Toronto’ community based mobile crisis response for over 35 years. We believe every person has the right to live a self directed life and to pursue their greatest level of wellness. Our work is rooted in community based, non-medical, non-coercive, trauma informed approaches that are grounded in the involvement and leadership of people with lived experience of mental health and/or substance use. We believe that the earliest response to a mental health crisis should come from a mental health worker rather than police. This helps people access the support they want and need sooner, while reducing harm, stigma, and unnecessary police involvement.
We believe an equity-based, anti-oppressive, and anti-racist approach is essential to building a system that supports health and well-being for all. We value collaboration as a way to strengthen service pathways and expand choices for people in crisis. We believe every person has the right to live a self-directed life and to pursue their greatest level of wellness and happiness.
Gerstein Crisis Centre has always actively supported consumer survivor initiatives by employing people from Abel Enterprises, Fresh Start Cleaning and Maintenance, Raging Spoon, and AWay Express. In support of artists with lived mental health and/or addictions issues, we have a beautiful collection of artwork from the Consumer Survivor Archives in most of our locations.