Wellesley Institute

Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.

Home Publications Mental health-related calls in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic

Vinusha Gunaseelan, James Iveniuk

Mental health-related calls in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic

The handset of an retro analog telephone hangs on a wire on a blue background

The onset of COVID-19 and the introduction of lockdown practices to prevent its spread have raised considerable concerns about their impact on mental health, and the potential for an ‘echo pandemic’ of mental health problems.

For this reason, the City of Toronto announced a mental health support strategy in April of 2020, urging residents to call 211 in order to connect them to partnered mental health support organizations. Residents could reach 211 Central 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through the phone or through online. Use of this support line offers us a window into the impact of COVID-19 on mental health.

Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to examine trends in calls made to 211 Central for mental health supports before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mental-Health-Related-Calls-July-22

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Acknowledgement of Traditional Land

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.