Ontario Immediate Family Wellness Program

The Ontario Immediate Family Wellness Program (the “family wellness program”) provides compassionate support for grieving families of individuals who have died in the line of duty or by suicide in Ontario.

The mental health services available through the family wellness program are:

·      Wrap-around and person-centered care management services

·      Grief literate, trauma-informed and healing centred care

·      Integrated approaches to care that support total wellness

·      Focused on resilience, empowerment and building necessary support structures

·      Culturally appropriate and attuned services

The family wellness program was developed by the Ontario government and informed by expert insights to meet the specific needs of families of these public safety personnel.

Our goal is to complement short-term victim services and immediate crisis supports by extending mental health services to meet the needs of families of public safety personnel who are experiencing loss, grief and bereavement. This program will help families navigate and access available supports.

Services are confidential and offer comprehensive care management, such as help navigating supports and connection to grief and bereavement counselling, as well as other resources for eligible individuals and families at no cost for up to two (2) years following registration with the Ontario Immediate Family Wellness Program.

Accessing Our Services

To access the family wellness program, eligible individuals may call a dedicated toll-free telephone line, staffed by our care management team, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

·      1-866-643-9247

·      info@onfamilywellness.ca

Our services are safe and confidential to protect everyone’s privacy. We will never release the personal information of our clients for any reason without informed consent and no identifiers will be used in the collection of data.

Eligibility

Individuals are eligible if their loved one has died

·      in the line of duty[1] on or after January 1, 2020, or 

·      by suicide on or after January 1, 2023

Currently, the program does not include:

·      death that occurs during the commute to or from the workplace

·      death by occupational illness resulting from employment as a first responder or public safety personnel

To access the family wellness program individuals must be an immediate family member (partner, parent, child, sibling) of one of the following:

·      fire service personnel inclusive of the Office of the Fire Marshal, First Nations, or composite, and municipal fire departments

·      police employed by the province, a municipal police services board, or First Nations in Ontario

·      paramedics and ambulance communications officers (ACOs)

·      adult correctional services personnel

We understand that eligibility criteria may be challenging to navigate. If you are unsure about your eligibility, please contact us and our Care Managers will assist you in finding supports that meet your specific needs.

No referral is required to access the family wellness program.

Meet Dalton Associates

Dalton Associates, founded in 1995, is a mental health services organization that provides customized comprehensive care navigation services, as well as specialized and quality-assured mental health services (including psychological, behavioural, psychotherapy and social work). Our focus is on providing services that are culturally sensitive, safe, accessible, and timely to individuals, families, organizations, and communities throughout the province of Ontario.