First and foremost, we want to thank Federated Health Charities and the OPS members for their ongoing support of the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario for the last 15 years.
Without the tireless support of our staff, our supporters, and donors like you, we never would have been able to accomplish the tremendous amount of progress we’ve made over the last 40 years.
Not only did we provide care, support and guidance to tens of thousands of families and individuals, but we also helped better educate the public about mental illness. We worked to provide care while driving awareness of the needs of those living with and those affected by schizophrenia and psychosis. We also dismantled many of the stigmas and negative portrayals of those living with these challenging disorders.
As you may have seen online, earlier this year, the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario made the transition to becoming the Institute for Advancements in Mental Health, and we wanted to share with you what that means.
This is an incredible milestone for our organization. We have a rich and storied history as a leader in mental health in Ontario and beyond, and through IAM, we will be able to broaden our reach to others who need our help as well as to continue to support the individuals, families and communities we currently serve.
But why did we make this transformation- and why now?
First and foremost, people told us that what was important when living with a mental illness is the quality of life, access to support, support to families and embracing mental health and addiction challenges.
As we navigated the mental health care system in Canada, we witnessed countless times the need for innovation and the need for change. It is as a result of this that IAM was born.
Our bold vision to redesign society for better mental health and to work every day with our partners and people living with mental illness to innovate, drive change, and develop services and solutions for better mental health-will impact all of us.
IAM works through partnerships and collaboration with those impacted by mental health challenges, leaders in the mental health space, researchers and innovators, and those who care with us in helping people who need support.
We continue our ongoing advocacy work, and most of all ensure we are delivering supports and services that are accessible by all. This couldn’t be done without you.
Many of you may be wondering what happens to the services we currently provide and what happens to the people, families and communities impacted by Schizophrenia and Psychosis:
That does not change, but it is enhanced to serve and support those impacted by mental illness and mental health challenges.
We continue to provide counselling and support and assist in navigating the mental health system. We support and help build skills for individuals, caregivers, youth and professionals; we advocate for access to services and care and build innovative solutions to mental health challenges. We are here for you.
Our transformation into IAM is not a step away from us being SSO but is an evolution to allow us to help even more people in need.
We want to thank you for your ongoing assistance and look forward to continuing our services and being strengthened by your support.
Sincerely,
Mary Alberti
CEO
IAM
To learn more about IAM, visit our website:
https://www.iamentalhealth.ca/
