How to access immediate help for mental health concerns:
If you as parents/guardians/caregivers feel you need urgent assistance with their child’s mental health, the following helplines are available, and/or you can seek help from your local hospital emergency room or acute care site.
Ontario Help Lines for Mental Health:
• Children and teens can speak with a counsellor 24/7 by calling Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868 or texting CONNECT to 686868.
• The Black Youth Helpline offers support for all youth and specifically responds to the need for a Black youth specific service, positioned and resourced to promote access to professional, culturally appropriate support for youth, families and schools. Please call: 1-833-294-8650
• The Hope for Wellness Help Line offers mental health counselling and crisis intervention to all Indigenous peoples across Canada. Please call 1-855-242-3310
• The Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) offers a 24-hour Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line with culturally specific mental health and addiction supports for adults, youth, and families in Ontario in both English and French, please call: 1-877-767-7572.
• Use Ontario 211 to look up the services available in your area.