United Way Peel commissioned Taylor Newberry Consulting to conduct a community research project to gain an improved understanding of the mental health and addictions system in the region. Peel Region includes the municipalities of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. This report provides the findings of the research and associated recommendations for system improvement.
In this report, Mapping the Mental Health System in Peel Region: Challenges and Opportunites, we describe the main features of Peel’s mental health system and how they interrelate, with a focus on how people access and navigate services and supports. We were specifically concerned with identifying common challenges and gaps in the local system, as well as promising practices and opportunities for system improvement. Of equal concern was the examination of how different ethnocultural communities in Peel access mental health services and the unique challenges they may face in navigating the system.
This work occurs within a broader context of federal and provincial social policies that seek to improve service coordination, flexibility, and responsiveness, within a holistic person-centred system. The purpose of this report is to share our findings with local stakeholders about the mental health system in Peel and to invite discussion and action on ways in which it can be improved. We provide a wide range of recommendations and next steps on how to move forward. Many of the research findings and recommendations are broadly applicable to the mental health and addictions systems of other communities in Canada.
Please visit http://unitedwaypeel.org/research/ to download a copy of the report.