Your briefing from CMHA is ready.

Running for municipal office is demanding. The long hours, public scrutiny and pressure to be “always on” can take
a toll. By looking after your own mental health throughout the campaign, you’ll be better equipped to make important
decisions, communicate more effectively and lead with resilience.

• Long days with little time to recharge
• Pressure to attend every event and respond to every request
• Online criticism and social media negativity
• Challenges balancing campaign, work and family
• Stress, fatigue and burnout

• Trouble sleeping or feeling exhausted
• Increased irritability with volunteers, family or staff
• Obsessively checking social media, polls or news more than usual
• Skipping meals, exercise or other basic routines
• Feeling overwhelmed, detached or emotionally drained

Healthy campaigns start with healthy candidates. Small, consistent habits can help protect your mental well-being:

• Build in five-minute breaks to eat, hydrate or walk
• Delegate tasks whenever possible
• Stay connected with someone outside the campaign
• Prioritize sleep, regular meals and movement
• Debrief difficult interactions with someone you trust
  Check in regularly with the six pillars of self-care:
• Mental and emotional: Notice how you’re feeling
• Physical: Prioritize sleep, movement and nutrition
• Spiritual: Make time for what gives you purpose
• Social: Stay connected with family and friends
• Intellectual: Keep learning and feeding your curiosity
• Practical: Stay organized and manage daily responsibilities

After election day, take time to decompress. Whether you win or lose, campaigns are
emotionally demanding. Be sure to allow yourself time to recover to support long-term
well-being. housing can be staffed and maintained.

Across Ontario, 27 CMHA branches offer programs and services that can help individuals build
resilience, manage stress and connect with support in their communities, including:

• Counselling and therapy
• Stress management and wellness workshops
• Peer support
• Family support
• Referrals to local resource

If you or someone you know needs support:

• Call 9-8-8 for a safe space to talk, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
• Find your local CMHA branch for programs and services in your community.
• ConnexOntario provides free, confidential information about mental health, addictions and problem gambling
  services across Ontario, 24 hours a day.

Questions? Contact us at info@cmhabriefingroom.ca 

Sources for this factsheet are available at cmhabriefingroom.ca/sources

Ontario is experiencing a growing housing and homelessness crisis driven by rising housing costs, low vacancy rates in affordable and deeply affordable rental units, inadequate affordable housing supply, and persistent poverty. Visible homelessness is increasing and more people are experiencing chronic homelessness and living in inadequate housing. Shelters and emergency services are under significant strain. 

Persons experiencing homelessness can be helped through initiatives such as rent banks, eviction prevention, coordinated access, and other community-based supports that help people find and maintain housing. One of the most effective solutions is supportive housing, which combines affordable housing with on-site or community-based supports that help people improve health and participate in their communities. Supports may include mental health and addictions care, primary health care, tenancy supports, life skills, employment assistance, and connections to community services. 

Currently, Ontario has a severe shortage of supportive housing. There are approximately 25,300 supportive housing units across the province, while an estimated 36,000 additional units will be needed over the next decade to meet demand.ⁱ 

Municipal governments may be on the front lines of responding to homelessness, but long-term solutions require coordinated investment from all three levels of government.  

Public safety and community well-being 

• People want public spaces to feel safe and welcoming. Reponses should consider everyone, including individuals who are unhoused and often face serious health and safety risks. 

• Communities are balancing the use of public spaces with the need to support people who have nowhere else to go. Without housing options, removing options like encampments doesn’t solve the underlying issue. 

Shelter and housing availability 

Many communities don’t have enough emergency shelter, affordable housing or supportive housing, so people are left with few real options.  

Pressure to act fast 

Municipalities are under pressure to act quickly and address immediate concerns with evidence-informed approaches. Lasting solutions take coordination across multiple levels of government, service providers and community organizations. 

• Municipalities provide a significant share of Ontario’s housing and homelessness funding. In 2025, they contributed approximately 67 per cent of housing funding and nearly one quarter of homelessness funding, while total spending on homelessness programs across governments reached $2.3 billion. Municipalities now provide most of the housing funding in Ontario, despite housing being a shared responsibility across all orders of government. ⁱⁱ 

• Homelessness is driven primarily by factors such as housing affordability and inadequate income, rather than mental illness alone. Mental health and substance use challenges both contribute to and are worsened by homelessness. ⁱⁱⁱ 

• Permanent supportive housing consistently improves housing stability, health outcomes, and community integration while reducing emergency department visits, hospitalizations, shelter use, policing, and justice system involvement. ^iv 

• Only 2 – 3 per cent of people waiting for high-support housing are housed each year despite significant demand. ^v 

• Rent supplements and portable housing benefits help make market housing affordable but rising rents and declining landlord participation have reduced their effectiveness in many communities. ^vi 

• Learn about and support “Housing First” approaches that help people find permanent housing right away, without requiring them to meet certain conditions first. As well, support transitional housing models that combine affordable housing with flexible, community-based supports. 
• Support homelessness prevention initiatives such as eviction prevention, rent banks, housing stabilization and coordinated access systems.  
• Promote supportive housing development through coordinated planning, timely approvals, and community education and engagement to build understanding and respond to local concerns. 
• Partner with CMHA branches and other community organizations to integrate housing, mental health, addictions, and primary care services.  
• Advocate for sustainable operating funding, not just capital funding, to ensure new supportive housing can be staffed and maintained.  

• Many CMHA branches deliver “Housing First” and supportive housing programs that pair rent supplements with flexible supports while allowing people to live independently in the community.  

• CMHA branches participate in multidisciplinary outreach teams that include housing workers, nurses, peer support workers, social workers, and addictions specialists.  These outreach services connect people experiencing homelessness to housing, mental health, addictions and social supports in a trusted community setting.  

• CMHA branches provide transitional housing, crisis stabilization beds, and other supportive housing models that help people transition from homelessness into permanent housing.  

• 16 CMHA branches are leads or partners on Homelessness and Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs in their communities.  

• Connect with your local CMHA branch to learn about programs and services  

• Read more about encampments, transitional housing and supportive housing on the CMHA Ontario website 

• Read the Association of Municipalities 2026 report on the homelessness crisis  

Questions? Contact us at info@cmhabriefingroom.ca 

Sources for this factsheet are available at cmhabriefingroom.ca/resources

Healthy communities are safe communities. Municipalities have an important role to play in creating the conditions for safety and well-being, but they cannot do it alone. Improving community safety requires all levels of government, community organizations, police, health-care providers and others to work together so people can access housing, mental health and addictions supports before reaching a crisis. 

The Ontario government recently introduced new legislation to provide municipalities with tools and funding to address these issues through the use of police and the criminal justice system, including Bill 6, the Safer Municipalities Act, 2025, and Bill 10, the Protect Ontario Through Safer Streets and Stronger Communities Act, 2025.  

Community-based mental health and addictions care providers also have a role to play in addressing the underlying health and social factors contributing to these issues. Encampments, visible homelessness and public drug use are symptoms of the housing, mental health and toxic drug crises, not the cause.  

The role of community mental health and addictions services 

Community mental health organizations play a critical role in supporting people with mental health and substance use challenges. As demand for services continues to grow, organizations often face funding, staffing and capacity pressures that can make it difficult to meet the needs of everyone seeking support. 

Public safety and community well-being 

You may hear concerns that homelessness and unhoused individuals make communities feel less safe. It is important to recognize that these issues are signs of unmet health and social needs. People experiencing homelessness are also often at increased risk of violence, poor health and other safety concerns. Effective responses should support both community well-being and the safety and dignity of people experiencing homelessness. 

Substance use and public spaces 

Individuals in your community may have concerns about substance use in public spaces and want responses that improve safety and reduce harm. Incarceration alone does not address the underlying factors that contribute to substance use.  Limited access and availability of harm reduction services can contribute to public drug use and improperly discarded equipment. Communities should consider evidence-informed approaches that connect people with health care, treatment, housing and other supports. 

• Mental illness and substance use alone are not reliable predictors of violence. Most people living with mental health or substance use challenges are not violent and are more likely to experience victimization than to perpetrate it. Risk is shaped by multiple factors, including unmet needs, trauma, poverty, housing instability and access to appropriate supports. ^{i ii} 

• Stable housing supports health and community safety. Housing instability can make it harder to maintain treatment, recovery and connections to community. Stable, affordable and supportive housing can reduce the harms associated with homelessness and provide the stability people need to access ongoing mental health and addictions care. ⁱⁱⁱ 

• Community safety is broader than enforcement. Many situations involving mental health, substance use or homelessness are health and social issues rather than criminal matters. Community-based crisis response, outreach, health care and supportive services can provide more appropriate responses while reducing pressure on police, emergency departments and the justice system.^iv There is no evidence that punishing people for not having adequate shelter or for using drugs in public spaces decreases drug use or homelessness.^v 

• Collaborate with community organizations such as Canadian Mental Health Association to address these issues with a health-focused approach.  
• Investigate where people are falling through the cracks and make the case for greater investment in community mental health and addictions services.  
• Advocate for sustainable provincial and federal investments in mental health and social services, including supportive housing, and evidence-informed, voluntary treatment and recovery supports for opioid and other substance use disorders.  

• CMHA branches across Ontario are involved in mobile crisis response teams, partnering with local police and other community organizations to resolve mental health crises on scene and connect people experiencing a mental health crisis with appropriate care and supports. 

• CMHA branches participate in multidisciplinary outreach teams that include housing workers, nurses, peer support workers, social workers, and addictions specialists.  These outreach services connect people experiencing homelessness to housing, mental health, addictions and social supports in a trusted community setting.  

• 16 CMHA branches are leads or partners in provincially-funded Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs across the province, which include a variety of wraparound supports such as case management, counselling, peer support, vocational services, occupational therapy, primary care and more. 

• Connect with your local CMHA branch to learn about their collaborations with first responders and emergency services 

• Read more about Bail Reform,  Bill 10 and Bill 6 on the CMHA Ontario website  

• Read Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s policy submission on the Protect Ontario Through Safer Streets and Stronger Communities Act 

Questions? Contact us at info@cmhabriefingroom.ca 

Sources for this factsheet are available at cmhabriefingroom.ca/resources 

Community-based mental health and addictions care offers an alternative and/or complement to hospital-based care. Often, mental health and addictions issues can stem from gaps in one’s “social determinants of health” – a series of social and economic factors that contribute to well-being. The 27 Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) branches across Ontario offer services and programming, from housing to food security to income supports and beyond, tailored to supporting the social determinants of health so individuals can get well and thrive within their own unique circumstances. Community mental health programs like crisis response and mobile clinics also offer an alternative to hospital-based care that often result in significant health care cost savings and reduce strain on emergency rooms. 

Community mental health organizations need to do more 

Community mental health organizations play a critical role in supporting people before they reach a crisis. Their work includes crisis response, supportive housing, case management, addictions services and other supports that help people stay well and connected to their communities. CMHA branches are helping more Ontarians than ever, but our resources are limited. 

Homeless and underhoused people make our communities unsafe 

Homelessness is a symptom of a bigger problem. People are homeless because they are not getting the housing and supports they need. Investing in housing, mental health and addictions care helps create healthier, safer communities for everyone. 

People who use food programs and income supports are unwilling to support themselves 

People may access food programs and income supports when they are experiencing financial hardship or difficulty meeting their basic needs. These programs can provide important short- or long-term support and help promote greater stability. 

• The Canadian Institute for Health Information reports 41 per cent of adults with a diagnosed mental health condition who needed mental health care had needs that were only “partially met” or were “completely unmet” last year. The same report indicates there were 325 hospitalizations per 100,000 Canadians that could potentially have been avoided with better access to community care, up from 312 per 100,000 the previous year.ⁱ 

• In 2024-25, there were more than 654,000 cases (families, single adults) and 973,000 beneficiaries (claimants, their partners, dependents) in Ontario’s social assistance programs.ⁱⁱ 

• Every dollar invested in supportive housing programs provides $1.60 to $3 in savings through reduced use of hospitals, shelters and correctional facilities. A month in supportive housing costs under $4,000 compared to $6,000 in a shelter, $12,000 in jail or nearly $30,000 in hospital care.ⁱⁱⁱ 
   

• An analysis of crisis response models from just 10 CMHA branches showed they diverted more than 17,700 visits to emergency departments in two years. With the average cost for a mental health emergency department visit in Ontario estimated at $423, these branches saved $7.5 million in hospital costs.^iv 

• 27 CMHA branches served more than 121,000 unique individuals in 2025, up from 100,000 in 2019. That’s a 21 per cent increase in service. 

• Reach out to your closest CMHA branch to learn more about local collaborations between community-based organizations and hospital-based services. 
• Advocate for sustainable provincial and federal investments in needed health and social services, including supportive housing and voluntary treatment for mental health and addictions. 

• Supportive housing models at Ontario CMHAs have proven to have a positive impact on clients’ mental well-being and housing stability. Up to 69 per cent of supportive housing costs are offset by savings in other areas, such as shelter and health care.^v 

• Several CMHA branches offer integrated primary care. A primary care visit costs one-third of an emergency room visit, and integrated primary care reduces emergency visits by 36 per cent.^vi 
    

• Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinics offered by CMHAs deliver low-barrier treatment for alcohol and opioid use. Clients attending RAAM clinics use emergency departments up to 80 per cent less often, freeing up hospital capacity. In 2023-24 alone, RAAM clinics served over 23,000 Ontarians, saving $460 million in health care costs.^vii 

• Connect with your local CMHA branch to learn about programs and services.  

• Read Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s 2026 update on the cost of the homelessness crisis 

Questions? Contact us at info@cmhabriefingroom.ca 

Sources for this factsheet are available at cmhabriefingroom.ca/resources 

Many people use substances (i.e., drugs, which include alcohol) or engage in certain behaviours (e.g., gambling, watching pornography) for relaxation, connection, or other subjectively enjoyable effects, as well as to cope with stress, trauma, or pain (physical or emotional). For some people, substance use or other behaviours can become harmful to themselves, their families, or communities and ultimately lead to addiction. This means their use or behaviour becomes compulsive and persists despite negative consequences to their health, daily living or relationships.  Addictions can be either substance related (e.g., alcohol or cocaine) or process-related, also known as behavioural addictions (e.g., gambling or internet addiction). Both can disrupt an individual’s ability to maintain a healthy life. 

The impacts of addiction are felt in many ways, with Ontario’s ongoing toxic unregulated drug crisis representing one of the most urgent public health challenges facing the province. The rapid increase in rates of boys and young men in particular who are seeking help related to online gambling (calls to Ontario’s mental health helpline increased by more than 300% since the legalization of online gambling)ⁱ likewise represents an urgent emerging public health crisis. 

People from all walks of life – whether employed or unemployed, housed or unhoused, old or young – can be impacted by addiction.  

Stigma and misconceptions about substance use 

Some people may view addiction as a moral failing or express that people experiencing poisoning from the toxic drug supply are responsible for their own circumstances. These views can contribute to stigma and overlook the complex health, social and systemic factors that contribute to substance use and addiction. For the most part, rates of substance use disorders (i.e., addiction) have remained stable across Canada over the past decade. The primary factor driving the current overdose crisis is that people are using toxic unregulated drugs. Evidence shows that when people have access to regulated alternatives and thus know what they are actually consuming and at what dose, overdose rates fall and health outcomes improve. 

Public drug use and safety 

While many communities have legitimate concerns about safety and public drug use, incarceration does not address, and can actually worsen, the underlying factors that contribute to substance use, including homelessness, mental illness and a lack of access to appropriate treatment and support. Public drug use are symptoms of rising inequality and poverty, intergenerational trauma, and chronically underfunded mental and physical healthcare, not the cause of it. 

• In 2025, approximately four people died every day from an overdose in Ontario, down from an average of seven per day in 2024. ⁱⁱExperts suggest this is largely due to the volume of people who use drugs who have already died and a relative stabilization of the unregulated drug supply from extremely strong and potentially deadly opioids, as well as other substances mixed into drugs (i.e., tranquilizers), which have negative health effects but do not pose the same risk of fatal overdose. 

• Since 2016, about three-in-four opioid-related deaths were men and 30-50 per cent of those who were employed worked in trades at the time of their death.ⁱⁱⁱ 

• Alcohol is the leading cause of substance-related hospitalizations in Canada. Alcohol is, by far, the costliest substance for society, measured in healthcare, justice system, and lost productivity costs.^iv 
   

• Thirty-nine per cent of Canadians report using online activities such as social media or video games as ways to cope with stress or heavy emotions.^{v vi} 

• One-in-10 Canadians report gambling behaviours that are at high risk of leading to problem gambling. ^vii 

• Collaborate with public health to communicate when surges in overdoses from toxic drug supply arise to make the community aware and provide information from community partners on how to stay safe and vigilant. 
• Endorse supports available through community organizations like CMHA to get help. 
• Challenge misconceptions and encourage evidence-based solutions at government planning tables, including harm reduction as part of (not a substitute for) the full continuum of substance use healthcare. 
• Advocate for sustainable provincial and federal investments in needed health and social services, including supportive housing, mental health, and voluntary treatment for opioid and other substance use disorders. 

• Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinics offered by CMHAs deliver low-barrier treatment for substance use. Clients attending RAAM clinics use emergency departments up to 80 per cent less often, freeing up hospital capacity. In 2023-24 alone, RAAM clinics served over 23,000 Ontarians, saving $460 million in health care costs.^viii 

• Many CMHAs offer individual and group-based addictions counselling or case management services to help people experiencing addiction develop healthy coping mechanisms and/or navigate additional community supports. 

• 16 CMHA branches are leads or partners in provincially funded Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs across the province, which include a variety of wraparound supports such as case management, counselling, peer support, vocational services, occupational therapy, primary care and more. 

• Connect with your local CMHA branch to learn about programs and services  

• Read more about common terms and misconceptions about addictions on the Someone’s Someone website 

• Read Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s policy paper about the opioid crisis  

Questions? Contact us at info@cmhabriefingroom.ca 

Sources for this factsheet are available at cmhabriefingroom.ca/resources 

Encampments are one of the most visible signs of Ontario’s housing and homelessness crisis, reflecting rising housing costs, a lack of affordable and supportive housing, shelter shortages, poverty and gaps in community supports. 

People experience homelessness for many reasons, including job loss, health challenges and family breakdown. Twelve per cent of Ontario households are in core housing need, living in housing that is unaffordable, overcrowded or in need of major repairs, with no affordable alternative. Meanwhile, homelessness has increased by more than 50 per cent since 2016ⁱ. 

Public safety and community well-being 
People want public spaces to feel safe and welcoming. Reponses should consider everyone, including people living in encampments who often face serious health and safety risks. 

Communities are balancing the use of public spaces with the need to support people who have nowhere else to go. Without housing options, moving encampments doesn’t solve the underlying issue. 

Shelter and housing availability 
Many communities don’t have enough emergency shelter, affordable housing or supportive housing, so people are left with few real options.  

Pressure to use the justice system to “clear” encampments 

Municipalities are under pressure to act, but lasting solutions take coordination across multiple levels of governments, service providers and community organizations. 

Encampments are a response to homelessness, not its cause: 

• Nearly 85,000 people were estimated to be experiencing homelessness in Ontario in 2025.ⁱⁱ 

• Household incomes increased close to 36 per cent between 2011 and 2021 while average rents increased more than 46 per cent. ⁱⁱⁱ 

• Despite recent growth in rental supply, affordable rental housing remains scarce in Ontario, particularly for low-income households. ^iv 

 About 70 per cent of people experiencing homelessness in Ontario have a current mental health condition, substance use disorder, or both.^v While these challenges are common, homelessness is primarily driven by broader factors such as housing affordability and inadequate income. Experiencing homelessness can also contribute to or worsen mental health and substance use challenges. Clearing encampments without safe and appropriate housing and supports doesn’t resolve homelessness. A police-led encampment clearing cost the City of Toronto approximately $2 million, but encampments continued to increase in the city, highlighting that enforcement cannot resolve homelessness without housing and supports.^vi Effective responses require emergency shelter, transitional, affordable and supportive housing. 

• Learn about and support “Housing First” approaches that help people find permanent housing right away, without requiring them to meet certain conditions first. As well, support transitional housing models that combine affordable housing with flexible, community-based supports. 
• Support homelessness prevention initiatives such as eviction prevention, rent banks, housing stabilization and coordinated access systems.  
• Promote supportive housing development through coordinated planning, timely approvals, and community education and engagement to build understanding and respond to local concerns. 
• Partner with CMHA branches and other community organizations to integrate housing, mental health, addictions and primary care services.  
• Advocate for sustainable provincial and federal operating funding, not just capital funding, to ensure new supportive housing can be staffed and maintained.  

• Many CMHA branches deliver “Housing First” and supportive housing programs that pair rent supplements with flexible supports that enable people to live independently in the community.  

• CMHA branches participate in multidisciplinary outreach teams that include housing workers, nurses, peer support workers, social workers, and addictions specialists.  These outreach services connect people experiencing homelessness to housing, mental health, addictions and social supports in a trusted community setting.  

• CMHA branches provide transitional housing, crisis stabilization beds, and other supportive housing models that help people transition from homelessness into permanent housing.  

• 16 CMHA branches are leads or partners in provincially-funded Homelessness and Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs in their communities.  

Learn more about homelessness, housing and mental health supports: 

• Connect with your local CMHA branch to learn about programs and services.  

• Read more about encampments, transitional housing and supportive housing on the CMHA Ontario website. 

• Read the Association of Municipalities 2026 report on the homelessness crisis.  

Questions? Contact us at info@cmhabriefingroom.ca 

Sources for this factsheet are available at cmhabriefingroom.ca/sources 

As a candidate, you will likely be asked difficult questions about mental health, addiction and homelessness throughout the campaign. Using respectful, evidence-informed language can help build trust, reduce stigma and keep conversations focused on solutions. This fact sheet provides practical tips on communicating about these issues with compassion.

Mental health vs. mental illness 

Mental health refers to our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It exists on a continuum and can fluctuate over time. 

Mental illness (and substance use disorders) are health conditions that can affect a person’s thoughts, emotions, behaviours and daily functioning. A person can experience poor mental health without having a mental illness, and someone living with a mental illness can have good mental health. 

Substance use 

People use substances for many reasons, including recreation, pain management and coping with stress or trauma. For some people, substance use can become harmful to themselves, their families, or communities and ultimately lead to addiction. Substance use exists on a spectrum, and not everyone who uses substances develops an addiction. 

Reducing stigma and improving access to treatment are essential to helping people seek support. 

Social Determinants of Health 

The social and economic factors that shape our health, such as housing, income, education, employment and access to services. 

The language we use informs public attitudes and can either reduce or reinforce stigma. 

Whenever possible, use person-first, non-judgmental language. People may describe themselves differently. When possible, respect the language individuals prefer. 

Municipal discussions often include terminology related to homelessness. Some common terms include: 

• Known homelessness: People identified through local homelessness services or community data systems.  
• Hidden homelessness: People staying temporarily with friends, family or other informal arrangements because they have nowhere permanent to live.  
• Chronic homelessness: Long-term or repeated experiences of homelessness over several years.  
• Emergency shelter: Temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness.  
• Supportive housing: Permanent housing paired with services that help people maintain housing and improve health and well-being.  
• Housing First: An evidence-based approach that provides permanent housing as quickly as possible, while offering voluntary supports.  
• Coordinated access: A community-wide system that prioritizes and matches people experiencing homelessness with housing and supports based on their needs.  

• CMHA Ontario  – How do I talk about substance use? 

• CMHA National – Words Matter: A Guide to Sensitive Language  

• Health Canada – Communicating about Substance Use in Compassionate, Safe and Non-Stigmatizing Ways  

Questions? Contact us at info@cmhabriefingroom.ca 

Sources for this factsheet are available at cmhabriefingroom.ca/sources