About the Cultivating Community Wellness Initiative

About the Cultivating Community Wellness Initiative

The Cultivating Community Wellness initiative is building capacity within Developmental Service agencies across the province to support the mental health and wellness of employees. By fostering a community of practice and sharing knowledge and resources, participating agencies will be equipped to Champion Mental Health and Wellness within their own agency.  The Provincial Network on Developmental Services is pleased to partner with CAMH to support this important initiative.

This project is funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.

The goal of this initiative is to prepare Ontario’s DS workforce for challenges related to mental health and compassion fatigue. This multi-pronged approach will include four main ingredients:

Community of Practice Monthly Meetings

Members of the Community of Practice (CoP) are working together to enhance our collective capacity to champion mental health and wellness in our agencies and the sector through the sharing knowledge, resources and tools.

ECHO Training

ECHO Ontario at CAMH and the University of Toronto provides a 6-week program for health care and Developmental Service Professionals with experience working with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Their curriculum addresses mental health challenges people with intellectual and developmental disabilities may experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more about their curriculum on their website

Monthly Webinars

Join the Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre for monthly webinars tailored to staff supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Webinar topics and discussions will include and relate to mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, staff burn-out, and self-care strategies. Visit the Webinars page to catch up on previous presentations and upcoming topics.

Tools and Resources for Agency Staff

We know how valuable resource sharing is for so many of us. That’s why we’ve created a home for resources specifically for staff working in developmental services – Browse the Resources page to learn more.