Letters from the Board Chairs and CEO

As members of the CAMH community, we have witnessed tremendous progress as together we have faced uncertainty, challenged the status quo and consistently strived to be better in all areas. We are proud of what we have accomplished and are even more optimistic about what we can achieve when we set our sights on a unified vision for the future—one that inspires bold and positive change, includes diverse voices and positively impacts the experiences of patients and their families, as well as future generations around the globe.

The broad engagement undertaken to build One CAMH was a fitting start to reimagining the next chapter of our organization. It is no surprise to us that it led to a plan that reflects the ambition, compassion and hopefulness that emanates from this organization. Thank you for your inspiring and passionate contributions.      

One CAMH is more than a response to a changing world. It is an ambitious call to action in a world that isn’t changing fast enough.  
As an organization that serves people who are routinely denied access to the most basic human rights and dignities, we demand better and commit ourselves to leading by example. CAMH has come a long way. We know we have further to go.

We look forward to working together as One CAMH to achieve our shared goals over the years to come. 

Sincerely,
David Wilson
Chair, Board of Trustees, June 2017–June 2020

Medhat Mahdy
Chair, Board of Trustees, June 2020–present

Big change demands a coalition of many, but it can start with one connection—one interaction that changes a life, one idea that unites a community. When those ideas and interactions coalesce, they create a movement.

Our collection of such moments is growing. In 2018, an anonymous contributor gave CAMH the largest donation to mental health research in Canadian history and changed the future for all who live with mental illness. This year, we open our eighth and ninth new buildings, creating recovery-oriented facilities at our Queen Street site. This represents a giant step toward our dream of community integration.

Most recently, our community and the rest of the world came together in many thousands of acts of courage to face the unimaginable. We experienced tragic loss in the face of COVID-19. Loss of life, loss of a sense of security and loss of imagined futures. The intersections between health and housing, income and food security were never more clear. The undeniable truth that mental health is health was never more collectively felt.

COVID-19 stretched the limits of our networks of care. Then it pushed past them. And on we fought. As one world, one Canada and One CAMH.

We move forward forever changed. We move forward with a renewed understanding of the power of community and oneness of purpose.

The future is bright because we imagine it together. It’s a future where mental health is at the centre of our health care system, where along with our partners, we redefine health. To achieve this vision, we’ve created a three-year road map: this new strategic plan, One CAMH.

Thank you for your enthusiastic voices: patients, families and youth, system partners, our community and the people of CAMH, whom I am honoured to call colleagues. With your perspectives, we have reimagined and reshaped the future of CAMH together. As you read and experience One CAMH, I hope you hear echoes of your participation, including the hard moments during our response to COVID-19 in the spring of 2020.

This is a major step on our journey toward the next million moments that will change the landscape of mental health.

Sincerely,
Dr. Catherine Zahn
President and Chief Executive Officer