Our Purpose and Mission
We provide accessible, community-based crisis and recovery support guided by lived experience and grounded in dignity, equity, and choice.
Our Vision
Communities where every person belongs and has the support, respect, and autonomy to shape their life, free from stigma, discrimination, and systemic barriers.
Our Values
Autonomy
We believe in each person’s capacity to make informed choices. Rooted in dignity and human rights, we are committed to supporting autonomy and self-determination for those we serve and fostering a culture of trust and accountability within our teams.
Strength-Based
We believe in honouring the unique wisdom and capacities of team members, partners, and clients. Our approach is grounded in the understanding that everyone brings a wealth of knowledge and distinctive skills. We foster an environment where these strengths are acknowledged and celebrated.
Diversity of Perspectives
We show up with presence and curiosity. We listen, ask questions, reflect, and make sure that people feel truly seen and heard – understanding is where everything starts.
Collaboration
We collaborate from a foundation of mutual trust and respect to serve our clients, colleagues, and community. Every partnership presents an opportunity to broaden our perspective and deepen our understanding. We foster a culture of connection where voices are heard, decisions are shared, and the conditions for safety are built together.
Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression
We recognize that systems of oppression and racism exist at all levels of society, impacting our team, clients, and communities. We are committed to embedding equity within our work, the communities we serve and the leadership we provide, and taking action to address historical and current systemic barriers. This includes integrating anti-racism and anti-oppression as an ongoing journey of learning, critical examination, and accountable action.
Safety & Wellbeing
We create environments where kindness, safety, and well-being are the foundation. We build trust, reduce harm, and build systems and services that support healing, equity, and belonging upholding the dignity and whole-person and wellness of everyone who engages with us.
Community
We believe in the power of community to support, heal, and foster belonging. We work alongside the communities we serve, building deep trust and lasting partnerships. By centring their voices and honouring their experiences, we collaboratively shape our work to strengthen connections between people, their histories, and the systems that shape their lives.
Our Approach
We offer an anti-oppressive, community-based and trauma-informed approach to crisis and recovery. Grounded in lived expertise and self-determination, our approach respects individuals’ autonomy and ability to define their own identities, experiences, and goals.
Our Staff
Gerstein Crisis Centre has skilled and experienced Community Crisis Workers with a broad range of experience and education, many including lived experience. All staff are trained in crisis intervention, suicide intervention, harm reduction, and work from a trauma-informed perspective.
Philosophy
To firmly establish an alternative service maintaining, facilitating, and fostering user involvement at all levels of decision-making from day-to-day operations to the Board.
To remain vigilantly sensitized to the expressed needs and wishes of the user group so that the environment and support offered are individualized, responsive, and respectful of the autonomy, dignity, and ability of the client.
To foster and assist in the development of self-reliance and strong peer connections.
To recognize, and act on the recognition, that too frequently, psychiatric crises are caused, exacerbated, or prolonged by non-medical factors. These include but are not limited to trauma, poverty, sub-standard or non-existent housing, settlement issues, forced isolation and inactivity, age, all forms of prejudice and racism, biases regarding gender, sexuality, and sexual identity.
To respect and appreciate that recovery can be defined as the ability to live well in the presence or absence of one’s mental health difficulties, and that each person with a mental health struggle needs to define for themselves what “living well” means. Recovery is different for everyone and can be supported by a range of service models.
To maintain a holistic approach to crisis management, ensuring users are made aware of and given information, opportunity, and, if necessary, proactive assistance in accessing potentially beneficial programs and services that may positively impact their quality of life.