The Equity & Lived Experience Working Group of the Ontario Mental Health & Addictions Virtual Care Collaborative are conducting a series of interviews to highlight projects or initiatives across Ontario that have helped to ensure nobody is left behind in the rapid shift to virtual mental health and addictions care that has occurred in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are highlighting the creative and innovative ways in which groups have addressed the widening digital divide, specifically with issues relating to Connectivity & Equipment, Platforms & Security, Relationships & Interventions, or Training & Policy. They especially want to highlight stories from all regions of Ontario that have ensured access to care for Elders/seniors, Indigenous communities, immigrants and refugees, people with disabilities, people experiencing houselessness, francophone communities, and people living in rural or remote communities.
Find more discussion on the Digital Divide here.
In the posts below, we've highlighted a few such initiatives, and will be compiling more in the weeks and months to come. We welcome you to share other initiatives that you know of which worked to increase access to virtual care. If you have examples to share, you can reply directly to this post, or you can email PhebeAnn.Wolframe-Smith@camh.ca.
