City Council Endorses Toronto's Fourth Emergency Service

In November, City Council officially endorsed the Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) as the City's fourth municipal emergency response service and voted unanimously to expand the program city-wide. The TCCS dispatches multidisciplinary teams of trained mental health professionals who provide a community-based, trauma-informed, and client-centered response to non-emergency crisis calls and wellness checks. Expanding this service is one of the priority actions of SafeTO, Toronto's community safety and well-being plan.
 
Since launching in March 2022, the TCCS has received 6,827 calls for service – 78% of which were transferred from 911 and successfully resolved without police involvement. The one-year evaluation found that crisis teams also completed 2,936 follow-up interactions and connected 1,160 service users to mental health and well-being services. According to data collected during this period, 95% of the service clients were satisfied or very satisfied with the service they received, and 90% of users indicated that the service positively impacted their perception of community safety and well-being. 
 
After a successful pilot, which originally launched in four zones representing approximately 60% of the city, the service will be expanded to provide crisis response through four anchor partners across Toronto before the end of 2024. In Ward 15 - Don Valley West, the service will be led by the Canadian Mental Health Association and Gerstein Crisis Centre.
 
A direct phone line, 211, has been created for the public to contact the crisis service 24/7. The TCCS can also be accessed as an option through calling 911.