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“Being connected with Reach Services changed my life,� says Norma Simon.

“I was an inpatient at the hospital and had just lost my housing when a nurse referred me to Lois Didyk, Reach Community Support Counsellor, to see if she could help me out.�

Norma hasn’t looked back since.

Reach Services is one of three mental health programs that make up Community Outreach Services at Michael ¾ÅÓÎÌåÓý (MGH), Toronto East Health Network. Located at Pape and Danforth, services include the Compass Program and the Family, School & Community Outreach Program.

Together the programs are designed ‘to reach people� through counselling, support and education. Reach Services serves more than 350 people per year; people who have been diagnosed with a major mental health challenge or are a family member of someone diagnosed. Social programs, skills development workshops and special events/outings are also offered. A Peer Support Worker (a Social Service Worker with lived experience) is part of the team.

“This has really helped to engage people who previously didn’t connect or come out socially,� says Lois.

Lois describes Reach support as recovery-based and person-centered.

“We try to be mindful about where people are at and focus on relationship building to make people feel safe enough to talk and try new ways of relating to the world or their mental health,� says Lois.

“I think we provide the safety net that people need to try new things and to grow.�

Support ranges from practical tasks including filling out housing applications or applying for jobs, to more therapeutic interventions like dealing with trauma or end-of-life issues. 

“We are flexible and respond to people where they are at. If someone is coming from a shelter we start there and do practical stuff; if someone has experienced a loss and needs to talk, we can do that; if someone needs to get grounded in reality, we help with that,� says Lois.

Norma’s story: Reuniting with family

For Norma, she first found practical support as Lois helped her find housing and a job.

“At the time, I didn’t even know it was possible to find someone to help with my resume, job search and refer me to job readiness programs like WIN (Work Initiative Network) at WoodGreen,� says Norma.

Lois then helped Norma reunite with her family.

“I’m really happy that I got my family together. We were apart for a long time and now everything is okay, the house is nice and I live with my sister and my niece,� says Norma.

Norma also participates in some of the programing at Reach. She used their acupuncture services to help her quit smoking and enjoys many of the social events, “especially the picnic!�

“We’re proud of being able to be with people where they are at and to help them in ways that are meaningful to them,� says Lois. “Our staff meet with people at our community office, in their homes, at coffee shops, doctor’s offices � almost anywhere!�

“It’s difficult to get everything from a hospital setting. Here, we can be more creative and support clients in a different way.  Much of the really good stuff happens in informal spaces, like when you’re walking in the park together. That’s when someone can say something meaningful about an awareness they‘ve developed or some barrier they’ve been trying to overcome,â€� adds Lois.

Lois and her team can cite many proud moments in the journeys they have shared with their clients. In one notable instance, a former client went on to become a Peer Support Worker at another institution, when Lois happily found herself sitting at a conference with this individual, now as a colleague.

“It’s a privilege to help people find their way, to help them build what is meaningful to them,� says Lois. “It can be going back to school, finding a volunteer job or just supporting them to ride out a mental health crisis without hospitalization; to know they can be okay.�

“I love the idea of empowering people and seeing them move closer to living the life they want for themselves. It’s important to me that people know they are more than just ‘patients�. I like to see people identifying as mothers, daughters, volunteers, writers, or artists. When I hear them self-identify in these wider ways, I know that something is on the right track,� says Lois.

One of Lois� proudest moments was recently experienced with Norma.

“I wanted to get my Native Name, it was very important to me,� says Norma.

Lois supported her on this journey and was invited to the ceremony at the Aboriginal Healing Program where Norma was given her Spirit Name, ‘Woman Who Walks With Kindness.�

“It was so cool to sit with Norma in this ceremony because it’s such a huge part of who she is, not as a patient, but as a person.� says Lois.

“Watching people developing themselves in ways that are important to them is such a rewarding experience!�

Referrals to Compass and Reach Programs at Michael ¾ÅÓÎÌåÓý come through a central referral service, Access Point:  ; telephone:  416-640-1934.

Referrals to the Family Support and Community & School Outreach Programs can be made directly to (416) 461-2000 x223.