WGSI Resource List
If you would like to submit a resource, please email wgsi.comms@utoronto.ca with the subject heading: “WGSI Resource List.”
University of Toronto Student Mental Health Resource Website
Part of U of T’s commitment to develop a more harmonized and student-centric approach to student mental health, the Student Mental Health Resource website – developed in consultation with students – allows students to quickly and easily find the mental health services they need, when they are needed.
Student Health and Wellness
At WGSI we recognize there are many pressures and factors that inform your experience as students at the University of Toronto. We understand that feelings of stress and anxiety might be connected to a variety of triggers and structural conditions, including but not limited to: financial pressure; learning and disability struggles; academic struggles; family conflicts and personal crises; experiences of physical, emotional, and/or sexual violence; lack of community/support networks; and both on- and off-campus experiences of racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, sanism, and ageism. We also recognize that crises can and usually do occur outside of normal business hours, and that not every support service is a good fit for every student. For all of these reasons, we’ve compiled a list of on- and off-campus services that we know have been helpful to some of our students. We hope you’ll find something in this list that serves your needs.
On-Campus Resources and Service Hubs
Health and Wellness offices on all three campuses:
Downtown Toronto: Health and Wellness Centre – (416-978-8030) located at 700 Bay Street, 14th Floor
U of T Scarborough: Health & Wellness Centre – 416-287-7065
U of T Mississauga: Health & Counselling Centre – 905-828-5255
Student Life: Feeling distressed? Find someone to talk to right now – and if there is an immediate risk, call 911.
Free 24/7 support is available outside the university. Students, staff and faculty can speak to a trained crisis worker at any hour of the day.
Navi – U of T students now have a more streamlined way to discover mental health resources and supports. Navi, short for navigator, is a chat-based service that acts as a virtual assistant for students wanting to learn more about the tri-campus mental health supports available to them at U of T.
Grief support at The Multi-Faith Centre – Their services include but are not limited to: Grief Support Sharing Circles, counselling, spiritual care, memorial service creation, and providing further resources. From their website: “You may find you need an academic deferral to help you through your time of grieving. Undergraduate students should contact their registrar’s office by email and inform them of the situation. Students may also wish to notify their professors or TAs. Graduate students should contact their professors and their department graduate coordinator.”
Accessibility Services (Note: they offer drop-in hours for peer support!) – Accessibility Services is open to all students at U of T. Students need to register with Accessibility Services and are able to meet with their Accessibility Advisor, Learning Strategist or Adaptive Technologist via drop-in or booking online. They are also able to support you for finances, transportation, text/exam and many more needs. They are located in central campus and in various locations throughout. Please click on the link above to get more information.
Centre for International Experience – This is a great service for international students coming to UofT or for domestic students wanting to study abroad. It’s also a great resource for meeting new people. They provide scholarships, workshops, academic support, language support, mentorship programs and much more. Please click on the link above for more information.
The Centre for Women and Trans People – The Centre for Women and Trans People is a community committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for women and trans people on campus. They have a drop-in center for socializing, a peer support program, nursing corner, child space, community cupboard and many more events. Please click on the link to learn more.
The Family Care Office – The Family Care Office provides support to current University of Toronto students, staff, faculty, post-doctoral fellows and their families with any family care related issue. The FCO has always emphasized an inclusive definition of family. They provide various resources, referrals, education and events to help current students with their family care needs. Please click on the link above to learn more.
Indigenous Student Services – Indigenous Student Services offers a wide variety of resources to Indigenous students on campus as well as opportunities for others to engage with and learn more about Indigenous communities. They offer academic support (tutoring, academic planning, advocacy with other UofT departments), financial assistance, academic programming (for example, the Indigenous Studies program and the Indigenous language initiative) and opportunity to engage with Elders. Please click on the link above to learn more.
LGBTOUT – LGBTOUT is an LGBTQ student organization. It offers a safe and inclusive space and programming for LGBTQ students. They have a Drop-in-Centre (DIC) located in the archway of the Sir Daniel Wilson Residence (73 St. George Street) as well as their main hub. They offer peer support, resource referral, free condoms, free pregnancy tests, and free pads/tampons. They also host various social events/workshops throughout the year. Please click on the link above to learn more.
The Sexual Education Centre (UTSEC) – The Sexual Education Centre is open to all students at U of T St. George campus. This service provides free, confidential, non-judgemental peer support around sex education. The services offered are phone support; one-to-one peer support; a library and resource services; residence and high school talks; and free safe sex supplies. Please click on the link above to learn more.
The Sexual and Gender Diversity Office – The Sexual & Gender Diversity Office (SGDO) develops partnerships to build supportive learning and working communities at the University of Toronto by working towards equity and challenging discrimination. The Office provides innovative education, programming, resources and advocacy on sexual and gender diversity for students, staff and faculty across the University’s three campuses.
Students for Barrier-Free Access – Students for Barrier-free Access is a student and alumni led non-profit levy group at the University of Toronto. SBA advocates for inclusive and accessible post-secondary education. We centre the leadership of disabled students and people with a lived experience of disability and take an intersectional approach to all our work.
The SBA Centre is a drop-in space for U of T students, alumni, and community members to meet, hang out, study, access academic and peer support, enjoy free snacks, and learn about Disability Justice.
UofT Telus Health Student Support 1-844-451-9700. Immediate counselling support is available in 35 languages and ongoing support in 146 languages.
My SSP provides international students with immediate and/or ongoing confidential, 24 hour support for any school, health, or general life concern at no cost to you. You can call or chat with a counsellor directly from your phone whenever, wherever you are.” They also have an app (android or iOS) available to download via the link above, another way of accessing a counsellor at any time.
UofT Community Safety Office – 416.978.1485 (21 Sussex Ave., 2nd floor, Uof T) – Provides information, support, links to appropriate services, crisis response, assistance in safety plans, self-defense workshops, and an interim room/family room for students seeking temporary housing after fleeing abusive situations.
Off-Campus Resources
The CAMH Emergency Department (**health card required). Intended for people in need of emergency assessment and treatment with mental health and substance use issues.
If you are feeling acutely ill, please proceed to CAMH ED. If you are unable to bring yourself to the ED and have no assistance to do please call a mobile crisis help line (listed below) or 911 to be brought immediately to an ED.
Indigenous Crisis Line, a team mental health support workers available everyday between 2pm and 2am to support Indigenous people dealing with mental health crises in the GTA. Call (416)-363-2999 to be connected with a case worker or 211 to dispatch a crisis team to your location.
The Gerstein Crisis Centre, “a 24-hour community based mental health crisis service.” They provide a telephone crisis line (416-929-5200) that can help with immediate mental health crisis management and connect to services to offer ongoing support. Family, friends and service providers can also refer people to their services by calling their Administration and Referral Line (416-929-0149).
They also provide a mobile crisis team that meets individuals out in the community to check on you if you are feeling distressing mental health symptoms. And they offer short-term residential beds to people suffering from acute mental health and addiction symptoms.
Good 2 Talk, (1-866-925-5454) is a free and confidential service providing professional counselling, information, and referrals for mental health, addictions, and well-being to post-secondary students.
EGALE – EGALE is a resource driven to create equitable spaces (work/school etc.) by making them more inclusive for LGBTQ+ peoples and providing knowledge and training to do so. They offer a variety of resources and services, including engagement with community resources and workshops for educators. Please click on the link above for more information.
The LGBT Youth Line/live chat – This organization is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive environment for LGBTQ2S+ youths. They offer a wide variety of resources, including peer support and resources for settlement, changing your sex on your birth certificate, faith, sexual health, and bullying. you may contact them for further information and support at 1-800-268-9688, or you can text them at 647-694-4275 or engage in a live chat by clicking the link above. They are only able to chat/text/phone from Sun-Fri 4-9:30pm, but you may email them any time at askus@youthline.ca.
No One Is Illegal – This organization helps individuals with immigration concerns and is available to people with a variety of immigration statuses. They provide advocacy and resources to those in need and can help to navigate other supports/resources that are available.
Toronto Rape Crisis Centre Multicultural Women Against Rape (TRCC) – TRCC is for women or non-binary people to find resources and support for sexual violence survivors. They offer 24/7 counselling support at 416-597-8808. They also offer resource navigation, court support, support groups, and advocacy services.
What’s Up Walk-in offers free and immediate mental health counselling for young people and their families.
Distress Centres of Greater Toronto 416-408-HELP (4357) – “Provides crisis and emotional support and suicide prevention/intervention/postvention services to individuals in our community.”
Anishnawbe Health Toronto Mental Health Crisis Line – 416-360-0486 or 416-920-2605 (business hours only). Improves health and well-being with Anishnawbe Health Toronto traditional healers, Elders and medicine people, and other health professionals.
Assaulted Women’s Helpline – 416-863-0511 – “The Assaulted Women’s Helpline offers a 24-hour telephone and TTY crisis line to all woman who have experienced abuse. We provide counselling, emotional support, information and referrals. We recognize abuse as one example of women’s social, political and economic inequality in the world. The Helpline is dedicated to working towards equality for all women.”
Togetherall – “An online chat-based mental health and well-being service offering self-help programs, creative outlets and a community that cares.”
Awards, Bursaries, Grants, Scholarships
The Governing Council at the University of Toronto is guided by the principle that “No student offered admission to a program at the University of Toronto should be unable to enter or complete the program due to lack of financial means. Digital Assets Policies Practically, this means there are more bursaries, grants, and scholarships available than you might know. There’s an Awards Officer in the Registrar’s Office of each college to help you navigate these options, so this is someone worth getting to know! Your gateway to college-specific scholarships and bursaries is here. And here are some additional links filled with information:
The City of Toronto Women’s Studies Undergraduate Scholarship is valued at $5,000, and payable in the winter session. It is awarded to a student who has completed year three and is enrolled in a major or specialist program in Women’s Studies.
New College scholarship and financial aid information.
University of Toronto scholarship information (general).
University of Toronto Financial Aid (UTAPS) helps “fill the financial gap for full-time students who receive the maximum amount of government financial aid available, but whose funding doesn’t cover all university costs.”
Information about scholarships for International Students can be found here.
Information about support for part-time students, including the Noah Meltz Program of Financial Assistance, can be found here.
Information about OSAP grants and bursaries for students living with disabilities can be found here.
Information about awards offered by the Arts and Science Students’ Union can be found here.
Information about APUS’ bursary program can be found here.
The Women’s Studies Collection
The D.G. Ivey Library, located at New College, houses one of the leading collections of Women’s Studies and Gender Studies resources in Canada. The collection includes books, periodicals, and much material from feminist organizations, including major primary resource items from Second Wave and Third Wave Canadian feminism.
The University of Toronto Libraries also provides access to extensive, full-text and bibliographic electronic collections, including the Gender Studies Database consisting of over 770, 000 records covering the humanities, social sciences, diversity studies, health, law, grassroots feminism, and feminist organizations. Also available is Studies on Women Abstracts, as an international abstracting service designed to meet the information needs of those working in teaching, studying or researching any of the main areas of Women’s Studies and Gender Studies. And further, Contemporary Women’s Issues covers over 600 sources published by more than 100 organizations around the world beginning from 1992. In addition to these indexes, the library provides electronic access to thousands of full-text periodicals and books.