At Yorktown Family Services, our clients are our North Star. They guide everything we do, reminding us that real impact happens when services are not only available but connected, seamless and centred on the needs of the people we serve. Through an integrated mental health care approach, Yorktown works to ensure that children, youth, women and families receive coordinated support that meets them where they are and helps them move forward.
Like many community agencies, Yorktown continues to face funding constraints even as the demand for mental health and social services grows. But rather than allowing limited resources to limit impact, we’ve strengthened collaboration across programs, using integration to deliver more effective support — and do more with less.
Since 2018, Yorktown has been reimagining how we work so that families, children, youth, and women can receive the right help, at the right time, in the most supportive way possible. By integrating our clinical teams and programs, we’ve created a wraparound model of care that reduces duplication, increases coordination, and ensures no one has to navigate multiple systems on their own.
The results speak for themselves. In 2024/2025, more than half of the people we served accessed more than one Yorktown program. The vast majority told us that services were timely, relevant, and helped them meet their goals — a testament to the power of collaboration and connection.
A cornerstone of this approach is our Care Navigation program, which was introduced in 2018 to help young people transition from hospitals and family health teams into community-based care. Since then, the program has grown to support families with addictions issues, connect clients to mental health therapy, and ensure smooth transitions across Yorktown’s service pathways.
As a Care Navigator, I often meet families when they’re feeling hopeless. I remind them that by meeting with me, they’ve already begun the healingprocess — taking that first step toward feeling better. Yorktown’s flexibility lets me advocate for each family’s unique needs. From evening appointments to culturally responsive care, our work is collaborative and guided by the client, ensuring they’re connected to the support they need. — Karina Gonzalez, Care Navigator
June’s Story
June* is a mother of three who was referred to Yorktown by the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto. At first, she joined our START program — Strengths-based, Time-limited, Attainable, Realistic Therapy — to strengthen her parenting strategies and improve her relationship with her six-year-old daughter, Lily*.
Through her sessions, June shared that she felt isolated and without a support system. Guided by her needs, her therapist connected June to Parenting in the Early Years, where she could build community and find encouragement from other parents.
As June grew more comfortable, she revealed that her son, Dale*, was struggling with depression and refusing to leave the house. Immediately, staff linked him with our Youth Outreach Worker (YOW) program, where he was supported to engage with an employment agency and the Rapid Access Therapy program.
June’s family was supported through a coordinated care team–including June’s START therapist, Parenting in the Early Years staff, YOW team, and Yorktown’s Manager of Intake and Brief Services. The team met monthly to share updates, discuss progress, and coordinate recommendations to ensure June and every family member was supported in a connected way.
June’s story reflects what integrated care looks like in practice: families moving forward with hope, guided every step of the way, knowing they have come to the right place — and proof that, even with limited resources, Yorktown’s integrated model ensures no one is left behind.
At Yorktown Family Services, integrated care means that no family has to face complex challenges alone. By connecting programs, clinicians, and community partners, we can respond to each person’s needs in a coordinated and compassionate way, ensuring children, youth, women, and families receive the right support at the right time.
If you or someone you know could benefit from Yorktown’s mental health and family support services, we encourage you to explore the programs available and learn how our team can help.
Learn more about Yorktown’s programs and how to access support.
*Names have been changed for privacy.
