I stepped out of my car at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene, Ontario on a crisp autumn morning. The historic brick buildings stood against a backdrop of maple trees turning red and gold – a stark contrast to the difficult conversations happening inside about gender-based violence and mental health.
“We’ve been waiting for this for years,” Dr. Zoe Hilton told me, her eyes brightening despite the heavy subject matter. As Waypoint’s Director of Research and Academics, she’s been instrumental in establishing Canada’s first-ever research and knowledge hub focused on addressing gender-based violence through mental health approaches.
The new Mental Health Hub Canada secured $3 million in federal funding this September, marking a watershed moment in how Canada approaches the intersection of violence and mental health. The five-year project will connect researchers, clinicians, and survivors across the country, creating what Hilton calls “a national network that finally breaks down the silos.”
Walking through Waypoint’s research wing, I noticed walls covered with collaborative diagrams connecting violence prevention, trauma recovery, and mental health treatment. The hub represents a fundamental shift in perspective – acknowledging that mental health and gender-based violence are deeply intertwined issues requiring coordinated solutions.
“Too often, survivors face fragmented care,” explained Dr. Nathan Kolla, Waypoint’s Vice President of Research and Innovation. “They might receive trauma counseling in one place, addiction support somewhere else, and have no pathway to address the mental health impacts of violence.”
According to Statistics Canada, nearly half of all women in Canada have experienced some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime. The Canadian Women’s Foundation reports that a woman is killed by her intimate partner approximately every six days. These sobering statistics highlight why the hub’s work is critically needed.
What makes this initiative unique is its scope. Rather than focusing solely on crisis response, the hub takes a comprehensive approach – from prevention and early intervention to treatment and recovery. It will develop new clinical tools, training programs for healthcare providers, and policy recommendations based on research findings.
“We’re asking different questions now,” said Shauna Tait, a survivor-advocate who consults with the hub. “Instead of just asking how we treat trauma after violence occurs, we’re asking how mental health supports can prevent violence in the first place.”
I joined Tait for coffee in Waypoint’s cafeteria, where she shared her perspective on why this approach matters. “When I sought help after experiencing violence, I was sent to five different places – a women’s shelter, a therapist, a psychiatrist, an addiction counselor, and a family doctor. None of them talked to each other. That fragmentation re-traumatizes people when they’re most vulnerable.”
The hub aims to change this by creating integrated care models that address the complex relationship between mental health and violence. This includes developing trauma-informed approaches for both victims and those at risk of perpetrating violence.
During my visit, I observed a virtual planning meeting where clinicians from Vancouver to Halifax discussed how to implement screening tools that could identify people at risk before violence occurs. The conversation revealed both the challenge and promise of this work – bringing together diverse perspectives from across a massive country with regional differences in resources and approaches.
Dr. Kolla emphasized that the hub will focus on evidence-based interventions. “We know from research published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence that early mental health interventions can reduce the risk of revictimization by up to 30 percent,” he explained. “But these interventions aren’t consistently available across Canada.”
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, access to mental health services varies dramatically depending on location, with rural and remote communities facing particular challenges. The hub plans to address these disparities by developing scalable models that can work in different settings.
Federal Minister for Women and Gender Equality Marci Ien highlighted this aspect when announcing the funding, noting that “gender-based violence costs Canadians billions annually in healthcare, social services, and lost productivity.” The economic case for prevention is clear – the Canadian Women’s Foundation estimates that intimate partner violence alone costs Canada approximately $7.4 billion per year.
But beyond economics, there’s a deeper transformation happening in how we understand these issues. As I prepared to leave Waypoint, I spoke with Dr. Jennifer Pole, a psychiatrist who works with both survivors and those who have perpetrated violence.
“For decades, we’ve treated mental health and violence as separate issues,” Dr. Pole said, walking me back to my car. “But the evidence shows they’re interconnected. Childhood trauma increases the risk of both experiencing and perpetrating violence later in life. Untreated mental health conditions can escalate conflict. By addressing these factors together, we can break intergenerational cycles.”
The sun was setting as I drove away from Waypoint, casting long shadows across the grounds. I thought about how this unassuming place in small-town Ontario had become ground zero for a national movement to reimagine how we address two of Canada’s most pressing public health challenges.
The Mental Health Hub Canada won’t solve these problems overnight. But by connecting the dots between research, clinical practice, and lived experience, it offers something that’s been missing from our approach to gender-based violence – a comprehensive framework that acknowledges the complex reality of human behavior and healing.
As Tait told me before I left, “This isn’t just about creating another program or service. It’s about transforming how we understand the relationship between violence and mental health. And that could change everything.”
