A York Region mental health hub is marking 25 years of operations, as it continues to expand its services to meet growing demand.
Your Support Services Network, at 240 Edward St. in Aurora, has directly supported more than 200,000 people with its crisis services, although executive director Kimberly Thorn said the number could be higher.
“We strive for a world where the need for crisis support is finished,” she said, speaking at an open house for the 25th anniversary Nov. 12. “I mean, that's the goal, that we have a safety net of supports available in the community, that we don't have people who need to call the crisis line. However, until that day comes, we will continue to be there for the community.”
YSSN is a hub for developmental, mental health and children’s services. The organization started in 1982 to provide case management to people with developmental disabilities, and then added crisis response services in 1999.
One of the network’s first crisis services was its helpline, 1-855-310-COPE (2673), which now is available 24/7, and was the “foundation upon which we have built all of our crisis services,” according to Thorn.
Jill Kellie has been a crisis response worker with COPE for 23 years, joining in September 2001, right after 9/11.
“People were calling a lot,” she said.
“I don’t know how to describe a typical day. You just pick up the phone and you have no idea what’s going to be on the other end,” she said. “But it’s just about listening, compassion, and caring.”
Kellie said while there are no typical days, they are largely much busier now than when she first started.
Stephanie Strilec, another member of the COPE team, saying they average 2,000 calls a month.
The network has since added a number of other services, including a short-term crisis bed program and partnered with York Regional Police for this embedded crisis worker program, which sees support workers handling a number of calls that would otherwise have been handled by police.
“I think everyone knows that police officers are not always the right response to a mental health crisis,” said York Regional Police Supt. Sarah Riddell. “Having two officers show up at your house to take you to the hospital when you're sick, shows that there is a problem — that is not the most appropriate way to manage someone who is unwell — mental health is health.”
Riddell said police are often the default when someone is in a crisis situation, adding that having crisis workers on hand helps “diffuse” situations and provide people with the right resources, with hopes of diverting them from the hospital system.
In 2023, the organization changed its name from York Support Services Network to Your Support Services Network "to reflect its core focus on supporting each person’s journey, as well as its mandate of service provision beyond York Region."
YSSN receives funding from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) and Ontario Health.
There is no fee its services.
The network also recently partnered with Waterloo-based Indigenous start-up Anishnabeg Outreach (AO) to pilot AONest, a cloud-based online resource designed to connect users with mental health resources and life skills training.
Newmarket-Aurora MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy congratulated the organization on its anniversary.
“What's good to know, from my perspective, not just as a politician, but as a community member living right here in Aurora, it's good to know that there are people like you, where you'll be there for them,” she said.
