Provincial System Support Program (PSSP)

Northwest Region

1. Kenora: 807 468-1429
2. Thunder Bay: 807 626-9145

Northeast Region

3. Sudbury: Toll-free 1 888 880-7063 or 705 675-1195
4. Barrie: Toll-free 1 888 880-7063 or 705 675-1195

West Region

5. London: Toll-free 888 495-2261 or 519 858-5110
6. Hamilton: Toll-free 888 857-2876 or 905 525-1250

East Region

7. Ottawa: Toll-free 888 441-2892 or 613 569-6024
8. Kingston: Toll-free 888 287-4439 or 613 546-4266

GTA Region

9. Toronto: 416 535-8501 ext. 30335

PSSP Provincial Office

10. Toronto: 416 535-8501

Clinical services are not available from CAMH Regional Offices. Please contact ConnexOntario for information about alcohol and other drugs, gambling and mental health services in your area.

We connect mental health system stakeholders, including those who work in substance use, with each other and with relevant, actionable evidence to inform decision-making. We also provide knowledge exchange support to large-scale initiatives.

Research shows that evidence can take 17 years to make its way into policy and practice. Knowledge exchange helps reduce that lag by connecting service providers, system planners and policymakers with the evidence they need. Evidence is more than just traditional research; it includes professional experience, lived experience, traditional knowledge and other forms of evidence that can have an important impact on policy and practice.

Evidence Exchange Network (EENet)

EENet is a province-wide knowledge exchange network. We connect mental health system stakeholders, including those who work in substance use, with each other and with relevant, actionable evidence to inform decision-making.

EENet does this through a variety of mechanisms, including Communities of Interest that co-create and share evidence, and EENet Connect, an online forum that engages over 9,000 stakeholders. In addition, EENet responds to the evidence needs of Ontario’s mental health system by creating rapid reviews, evidence briefs, infographics and other resources to help inform decisions.

We focus on diverse content areas, including mental health promotion, harm reduction and service improvement. We also support system-level initiatives such as the Early Psychosis Intervention Ontario Network and the Mental Health and Addictions Leadership Advisory Council.

Problem Gambling Institute of Ontario (PGIO)

PGIO brings problem-gambling treatment providers, allied professionals and researchers together with experts in communicating and sharing knowledge. The focus is on collaboratively developing, modelling and sharing evidence-based solutions to gambling and other behavioural addictions, such as problematic use of technology—including internet use, gaming and social networking. The team of therapist-trainers and education specialists provides online and face-to-face training to health professionals across Ontario, as well as specialized training to employees of Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. PGIO also develops research-informed handbooks, digital tools and websites for both professionals and people experiencing problems with gambling.

Helping communities put solutions in place

Using best practices in implementation, our teams help communities use evidence and adapt it to improve the system of care for individuals and families with mental illness including addiction needs.

We have learned how to put evidence into practice in a consistent, sustainable and effective way. Through our implementation work, we have helped communities improve areas of the mental health system, including those related to substance use, to better support individuals and families. For example, we’ve helped to improve transitions between youth and adult services, effectively screen for and assess addictions issues, and identify and refer justice-involved youth to appropriate supports. To see more examples of our implementation work, please explore http://www.improvingsystems.ca.

Meaningful engagement leads to meaningful change. We work to access and integrate the expertise of lived experience and the voices, priorities, and perspectives of minority, marginalized, and vulnerable populations. The use of evidence, data and validated tools also ensures health equity is a primary driver of our system change work.

Teams such as Aboriginal Engagement and Outreach (AEO) work on the ground across the province, connecting with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities and service providers. AEO focuses on:

• building relationships and collaborative partnerships
• providing training to support workforce development
• advancing culturally relevant systems initiatives
• improving practice through research and knowledge exchange.

AEO collaborates with many programs across CAMH to develop and deliver training, coordinate knowledge exchange events and webinars, serve as a resource for research projects, and support Aboriginal engagement for CAMH programs and initiatives.

Measuring impact through evaluation and data

We provide our partners across Ontario with an IT platform, customized analytics and evaluation services to create more evidence-informed systems.

The data, evaluation, leadership and transformational analyses team develops and maintains a provincial data management system. This system supports community addictions and harm reduction partners in collecting, storing, analyzing and reporting on their data. In addition, our live help desk ensures we are engaged and can support our partners across Ontario. Our team focuses on evaluating how system work gets done and its impact at the local, regional and provincial level. Our work informs strategic planning and decision-making. We build capacity among our partners and coach them to use best practice data and evaluation methods. Together we are helping to create stronger and more evidence-informed systems.