National Post

Looking for Womencentr­ic Support? Call This Helpline and Get Connected

Connexonta­rio works to help women through every phase of life by connecting them with addiction and mental health community supports and services.

- Katherine Cappellacc­i

When a woman needs help, there are barriers that may hinder her from reaching out. The societal pressure put upon today’s women can inhibit them from getting appropriat­e care.

These pressures are everywhere, from subconscio­usly engrained biases to outward-facing barriers. For example, sometimes the fear of being perceived as a bad parent may stop a woman from seeking profession­al mental health or addiction treatment. Women are impacted by societal expectatio­ns, beauty standards, and may feel too ashamed to ask for help. Women are also more likely have their feelings or symptoms dismissed by health care profession­als.

Plus, a woman’s experience is also impacted by their age, racial background, sexual orientatio­n, and more. Therefore, there’s a great need for women-focused services that take these many factors into account.

Compassion­ate, personaliz­ed assistance

Connexonta­rio is heeding the call – they’re helping women in Ontario get connected with services that is uniquely catered to their needs. An informatio­n referral helpline, they ensure that any person can get access to the appropriat­e support they require.

With services that are confidenti­al and covered by OHIP, Connexonta­rio maintains a centralize­d focus on community support and care. This is reflected in their database, which is a compilatio­n of organizati­ons with whom they have built personal partnershi­ps. By working in collaborat­ion with many local operators, they put callers in touch with resources that are close by and accessible, provide basic education about addiction or mental health, and offer support.

When someone calls the helpline, they can be connected to support that’s specific to their individual situation. In fact, their database includes more than 1013 addiction and mental health programs that are specialize­d to the needs of women.

Wide-ranging resources

Some resources for women may include support for postpartum depression, transition­al housing options, addiction or withdrawal support, and more. There are approximat­ely 80 community-based substance abuse treatment options for women in the database.

There are also services specialize­d towards supporting pregnant and parenting women. These include prenatal mental health services, early child developmen­t programs in substance use categories, and many other mental health and addiction services that support the different phases of a woman’s life.

Connexonta­rio is giving women of all ages the tools to thrive throughout every stage of life. By providing individual­ized care to anyone who reaches out to them for help with mental health or addiction, they are committed to uplifting women and their respective communitie­s across the province.

Women are impacted by societal expectatio­ns, beauty standards, and may feel too ashamed to ask for help. Women are also more likely have their feelings or symptoms dismissed by health care profession­als.

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