About Mhaven
Understanding The Initiative
Canada’s First Intimate Partner Violence-Focused Mental Health Platform
We are a proud initiative of Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. We exist to connect those impacted by violence with support services, research, and others with shared lived experiences to help them navigate towards a better life. From resources to training and emergency services, our purpose is to help survivors, families, community partners, and practitioners work together toward safety and healing.
Why Mhaven
Created to Address a Critical Gap in Delivering Care
Rising rates of gender-based and intimate partner violence, unmet mental health needs, and fragmented pathways to care point to a critical service gap, especially for culturally safe services that address both survivors and individuals who are concerned about their behaviour. Mhaven exists to address that gap with partners across community and hospital settings.
More than 4 in 10 women
44%
indicated that they were victims of IPV in their lifetime.
More than 1 in 3 men
36%
indicated that they were victims of IPV in their lifetime.
Mental health issues were identified by
36%
of women in Canadian shelters for victims and survivors of abuse as one of the top challenges they faced.
Experiences of sexual and intimate partner violence are
50%
in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
We Bridge Intimate Partner Violence Support & Mental Health
We help close the gap between intimate partner violence services and mental health care, so survivors, those who are concerned about their behaviour, and supporters can access coordinated pathways to help when they need it.
Bridging Hospital & Community Services
With shared protocols and governance, we’re creating a seamless continuum of care.
Serving Under-Represented Groups
Many of our resources are accessible to Indigenous Ontarians, newcomers to Canada, gender diverse folk, and those who use violence.
Person-Centred & Accessible by Design
Our resources and directories are structured with ease of use and survivor care in mind.
HOW WE PROVIDE SUPPORT
Mhaven Connects People to Resources, Services & More, All in One Place
It’s our commitment to ensure those in need of support can easily find the resources they need, when they need them. Our extensive hub includes a directory of crisis services, education, personal stories, and more.
Resources
Whether looking for yourself, someone you care about, or to improve your knowledge on intimate partner violence, our extensive resource collection has what you need to move forward with confidence.
Resources
Whether looking for yourself, someone you care about, or to improve your knowledge on intimate partner violence, our extensive resource collection has what you need to move forward with confidence.
Support Services
If you have experienced intimate partner violence and need support, or if you are concerned about your behaviour and how you may impact your relationship and family, explore our directory of support services to get the help you need.
Training & Education
Explore our catalogue of intimate partner violence prevention and support training programs. Whether you’re a medical or mental health professional or seeking to develop your ability to support a loved one, we offer learning materials that will benefit you.
Healing Together
It takes a village to increase awareness of and to prevent intimate partner violence. Explore our in-person and online support groups and events to connect with others like you.
THE TEAM
The People Behind This Initiative
Mhaven is led by Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care and the Waypoint Research Institute, an academic hospital with a mandate for specialized mental health care, research, and education, guided by values of caring, respect, accountability, and innovation. Principal investigators include Dr. Elnaz Moghimi and Dr. N. Zoe Hilton, with a multi-disciplinary team experienced in intimate partner violence risk assessment, culturally safe co-research, clinician education, and system navigation.
PARTNERSHIPS
Our Partners & Affiliations
Our work would not be possible without the leadership and generous support of our funder, the Government of Ontario’s Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, and the collaboration of our community-based partners and initiatives, whose contributions help shape the resources and services we provide.
