Toronto Public Library expanding social, crisis support services to more branches

Toronto's libraries increasingly find themselves on the front lines of the city's homelessness and mental health crisis.

As Toronto’s libraries increasingly find themselves on the front lines of the city’s homelessness and mental health crisis, a program that aims to help some of the most vulnerable people is expanding to more branches.

Social and crisis support services are now available in 12 Toronto Public Library locations across the city, in an effort to meet growing demand and reach people who may otherwise go without support in a welcoming public space.

The idea was born in 2023, when staff expressed feeling limited while trying to help vulnerable people who came to the library, said Amanda French, manager of social development at Toronto Public Library.

“We would tell people where something was, but then we couldn’t really warmly hand them over to anyone,” French said.

In partnership with the Gerstein Crisis Centre in Toronto, the library launched a pilot project in a handful of locations in 2023 to offer free drop-in crisis services and programs to people experiencing mental health, substance abuse or other issues.

Partnering with Gerstein to address the gaps in crisis supports “only made sense,” said French, especially as the library took on the challenge of delivering services outside of its expertise.

The partnership was also a no-brainer for the Gerstein Crisis Centre, which saw it as an opportunity to connect with people who may not have access to its location, said the centre’s executive director Susan Davis.

“I think the beauty of it is the inclusivity and the fact that a community cares enough to try and bring the resources to the people,” Davis said.