Some Torontonians are unsure about the effectiveness of mental health crisis workers on the TTC while the city considers support programs’ expansion, but these experts say it could be effective.
On Tuesday, Mayor Olivia Chow brought forward a motion asking city staff to work with relevant city divisions to expand the city’s community safety and well-being program, SafeTO.
The proposed plan, which will be up for consideration next week, includes working with the TTC to increase Toronto Community Crisis Service on subway platforms, trains, buses and streetcars and suggesting a plan for expansion of the initiative in collaboration with other mental health providers.
During the executive committee meeting, Chow brought up the need for a better integration between the different services offered by the city related to mental health crisis, including public health, paramedics, police services, and shelters to be able to offer individuals in crisis with the support they need.
“A lot has now loaded into Toronto’s Community Crisis Services. I know they are up to the task, I know they have a really good team, and of course they are getting the full cooperation with the police. So, let’s do this as one team and deliver the best services,” the mayor added.
But besides Chow’s optimism about the program expansion, some Torontonians online received the news with skepticism about its real effectiveness in supporting individuals in crisis and containing safety-related concerns.
“In practice, these workers are ill-equipped to deal with violent addicts who are harassing, threatening, assaulting, smoking meth, and defecating on subways and streetcars on a daily basis.
I see the same people doing this on my daily commute over and over and over again. On the occasions I see these ‘mental health response teams,’ they are typically doing absolutely nothing,” one Reddit user said.
“All pointless. They just take them to the hospital, wait 72 hours and unleash them back onto the streets. It’s theatre. Where everyone loses,” another user added.
“I thought I had read [that] the city has already put mental health workers on public transit though I’ve never [encountered] one before,” a different user chimed in.
EVERYONE DESERVES TO FEEL SAFE ON THE TTC
On the other hand, mental health experts and TTC advocacy groups are saying that bringing in mental health-focused supports is a very important step towards increasing public safety.
Dr. Kwame McKenzie, CEO of the Wellesley Institute, an organization focused on reducing health inequity in the city, says that having trained personnel that can offer useful support to people in crisis, as opposed to relying solely on police, can have a positive impact on the timeliness and effectiveness of safety responses.
“More and more, you’re seeing crises on the TTC, and the quicker that there is a response and a product response, the better, for everybody concerned, not just the person with the crisis, but everybody around them. And sometimes, waiting for the police may be slow,” he told Now Toronto on Thursday.
“Having the skills to understand what’s going on and be able to ask questions or be able to speak with somebody in the right way increases your safety, increases the safety of those people around you, and allows you to get most appropriate help,” he added.
The doctor also said he expects support to go beyond transit, expanding through different public sectors and businesses across the city, with more people being trained to address mental health crises.
According to him, services need to do a better job of addressing concerns before they get to the point of a crisis that puts the individual and others at risk.
“Crises increase during the time when economic downturn is predictable, but at the moment, we don’t have a plan to deal with the fact that we’re going to get more mental health crises as people lose their jobs, [with] 10 per cent of unemployment in Ontario, as we see tariffs coming through, as affordability becomes difficult, as people are losing their homes,” he said.
“We’ll see crises, but we don’t have a plan of how to equip people to deal with those crises.”
Transit advocacy group TTCriders also seems to be content with the city’s decision to push for more mental health support, saying that this approach is certainly better than only relying on police.
“TTCriders… has long called for proactive, effective, and care-centered solutions to transit safety. Everyone deserves to feel safe on the TTC,” a spokesperson of the advocacy group told Now Toronto.
“This approach is a clear improvement over relying solely on enforcement, which can increase the risk of harm for Black, Indigenous, unhoused people, and those experiencing mental health challenges.”
But increasing mental health services on the TTC is not all that is needed to tackle public transit safety, according to the group.
TTCriders also urged the city to continue pushing for deeper solutions to mental health crises, including supporting the development of affordable and reliable housing.
“There are additional steps we know would help make riders feel safer, and we encourage City Council to consider them—such as providing Wi-Fi access in the subway, installing platform edge doors, and hiring more TTC staff to serve as ‘Transit Ambassadors’ focused on guidance rather than enforcement,” the spokesperson added.
CURRENT MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
Since Sept. 26, 2024, the Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) has offered in-person, confidential mental health support across the city, including at TTC stops and stations. The service offers de-escalation, counselling, substance use support, referral to other city tools and other kinds of support to Torontonians 16 and older.
The TCCS is the first trauma-educated program in Canada to provide these kinds of services and aims to support people without police involvement.
The TTC also offers its own crisis support services with its Community Ambassadors, particularly to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness and de-escalating conflicts. In an effort to address security concerns, the public transit company also has first-aid-trained security personnel and supervisors trained in de-escalation.
Residents who wish to contact TCCS’s non-emergency crisis response, can call 211.
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