It’s not too late to register for one of Family Service Toronto’s several virtual or in-person workshops or groups this Fall.

Among the groups open for registration are:

• Knowing your Rights A four-week virtual legal series offered by our Violence Against Women program for women-identified trauma survivors.
• Emotional self-regulation  A six-week virtual group session for individuals interested in learning strategies to reduce anxiety and distress. 
• Camps Information sessions (virtual) – under Options Children Workshops and Groups

See our Virtual Workshops and Groups page for current groups and upcoming sessions.

In-person single walk-in counselling sessions are available Thursdays at our 355 Church Street location. For more Information,go to Single Session Walk-in Counselling.

FST’s 2024-25 Annual Report and our 2024-25 Audited Financial Statements have  been posted to our website for download or online reading. The Annual Report highlights programs and client services and statistics on FST’s work and community outreach. It also covers organizational highlights and changes over the previous year.

The independent Auditor’s Report released June 30, 2025 notes the statements fairly reflect the financial position of FST as of March 31, 2025 and the results of its operations and cash flows for the year ended in accordance with Canadian accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations.

The Annual Report shines a spotlight on our Violence Against Women (VAW) team’s focus on alarmingly high rates of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) over the last year and our efforts to have the provincial government declare IPV an epidemic.

Another key element of the Annual Report is the summary of our 2024-25 financials which reflect the Audited Financial Statements.  Funders and donors are highlighted in addition to revenues and expenses for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025.

FST will hold its 111^th Annual Meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. by videoconference. To attend the meeting please register by Sept. 15 at the following link:  https://zoom.us/meeting/register/EcGLr6b7TpmzoBxXEnSqkw. After registering, a confirmation email will be sent including information about joining the meeting.

For information about FST membership, please refer to our membership page.

If you are an FST client, we invite you to participate in our Annual Satisfaction Survey to share your thoughts, experiences, and expectations regarding our programs and services.

Our client survey is open year-round, giving you the chance to provide feedback on our services at any time. As an FST client, your responses help us improve and tailor our programs so we can best support you.

Tell us how we are doing: Client Satisfaction Survey

After careful consideration, FST has made the difficult decision to close the Families in Transition (FIT) program effective October 10, 2025.

The decision to end the program after more than 40 years was made after thorough consideration of its impact on clients, staff and the wider FST community.

FST’s 2025/26 budget identified the need for cost savings this year as a result of funding reductions. Client referrals for the FIT program have been low in recent years.

As of July 4, 2025, the FIT program is no longer accepting new client referrals. Service to active clients will wind down over the coming weeks. We remain deeply committed to supporting both current FIT clients and our staff through this transition.

Please see our Family in Transitions resources page for information regarding access to alternative programs and services for children and families. We will continue to prioritize the well-being of all stakeholders and maintain open lines of communication over the coming weeks.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has supported and contributed to the FIT program over the past four decades. While this marks the end of an era, FST remains devoted to meeting community needs and supporting all individuals and families.

Our 2024-25 Audited Financial Statements are now available for download or online reading.

The independent Auditor’s Report released June 30, 2025 notes the statements fairly reflect the financial position of FST as of March 31, 2025 and the results of its operations and cash flows for the year ended in accordance with Canadian accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations.

The value of government contracts is reported as well as grants, other accounts receivable and investments and summarized against expenses.

Check out our membership page to review changes to our corporate membership structure that came into effect in September 2024 to ensure FST’s compliance with the Ontario Not For Profit Corporations Act.

“FST now has two classes of membership – one voting, applicable to community members, and the other non-voting, applicable to all FST employees,” notes Executive Assistant Anne Dragone. “The Board determined that the new structure avoids the perception of any conflict of interest related to business conducted at members meetings such as the Annual Meeting.”

Membership remains free and renewable on an annual basis. FST’s corporate membership policy was also revised to reflect this change.

Details on membership and application form are available here.

Campaign 2000 is pleased to advise that the final report of their  Localizing Canada’s Commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Project is now available.

Titled Final Report – Localizing Canada’s Commitment to the SDGs, it is available with and without appendices on SDG Campaign 2000 website.

The three-year project, co-led by C2000 with Citizens for Public Justice and Canada Without Poverty, ended last year and focused on community-based research activities amplifying the knowledge of lived experts from 17 communities across the country.

It culminated in March 2024 at a virtual Knowledge Translation Summit with the release of a new National Community-Based Indicator Framework designed to measure actions towards ending poverty – the first of 17 SDGs adopted by Canada and 192 United Nations member states in 2015.

In July 2024, the project findings were also shared at an official side event of the United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

The team is grateful to those partners and communities who generously shared their knowledge and time throughout the project.

Family Service Toronto is recruiting volunteers to join its board of directors and committees beginning in the 2025-26 governance year.

FST’s board and committee members are individuals with diverse backgrounds and perspectives coming from the mental health, social services, non-profit, business, legal, government and academic sectors.

FST is currently seeking skills/expertise in:

• Consumer experience; service provider or working knowledge of the mental health and/or developmental services sector in Toronto
• Board governance
• Finance/Accounting, CFA; CPA
• Working knowledge of the not-for-profit sector

Application deadline is June 9, 2025 with interviews scheduled for late June. See full posting here. Send resume and cover to [email protected]

Canadian Mental Health Week (May 5-11) provides a focus on assisting those with mental health challenges to lift the mask they often hide behind to protect themselves from judgment and discrimination.

“Living with a mental health or substance use challenge is hard enough; masking can make it even harder,” advises the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).  “The heavier the stigma, the heavier the mask becomes, and the more isolated we feel.”

The CMHA chose this theme to encourage people to look beyond the surface and see the whole person, notes FST Clinical Director Lisa Manuel on behalf of staff supporting our counselling and mental health programs. She highlights the importance of this week both for clients and the wider public in our thought leadership statement in recognition of Canadian Mental Health Week 2025.

Read the full statement here

FST completes an annual review of the socio-demographic data of our clients to better understand the communities we serve.

In 2023-2024, through Mental Health, Gender-Based Violence, Community Engagement, DS Options and Person-Directed Planning programs, FST served 3,744 clients. In addition, 11,267 clients were supported through the Passport program.

The key insights from the 2023-24 data report have been highlighted in an infographic available here. Among its findings, it shows clients identifying as women make up 58 per cent of FST’s annual client total and that more than half of all clients are between the ages of 20 and 34.

The most common reasons reported for seeking FST services are intimate partner violence, relationship issues, and trauma.

Spring is in the air and a new season brings the opportunity to join one of Family Service Toronto’s several virtual workshops or groups.

Among the virtual groups open for registration are Emotional Self-Regulation, a six-week fee-based group starting April 10 for individuals interested in learning strategies to reduce anxiety and distress.

Also offered virtually starting April 25 for free is Nervous System Reset, which will provide participants with body-based grounding techniques and trauma-informed yoga instruction to help improve emotional and physical well-being.

Also continuing Mondays this Spring is a free virtual Weekly Meditation Group webinar invitation to engage in a 30-minute guided mindfulness practice.  Each week, a counsellor will lead participants through a meditation and provide information about a weekly topic, such as mindfulness, coping strategies, or understanding emotion.

See our Virtual Workshops and Groups page for current groups and upcoming sessions or call 416-595-9618 weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. to book a virtual counselling session.

FST’s Leila Sarangi (Senior Director Strategy and Innovation/National Director of Campaign 2000) and Project Researcher Hannah Barrie will join speakers from Jamaica and the United Kingdom next Thursday (March 13) at a free virtual conference exploring themes of intersection and poverty and their relationship to social problems.

Titled Intersectionality: Is Poverty the Missing Link?, the conference will be of interest to people with lived experience of social work and social care services, social work practitioners, social work students, field instructors, practice educators and social work academics.

The conference is being presented by several academic institutions in Canada and Britain and Leila and Hannah will speak on their work localizing poverty eradication across Canada.

Registration and tickets are available at the following link: Intersectionality: Is Poverty the Missing Link? | Canadian Association of Social Workers