Overview
The Family Navigation Project (FNP) is a unique program. The first of its kind in Canada, its existence is due to the perseverance of a group of caregivers who were determined to help youth, struggling with mental health and/or addiction challenges, find the help they need.
FNP at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre serves youth and families in the Greater Toronto Area (Durham, Halton, Peel, Toronto, York), and coming soon in Northern Ontario in partnership with Compass Boussole Akii-Izhinoogan. FNP is a non-profit, philanthropically-funded program providing help to youth, 11 to 29 years old, experiencing mental health and/or addiction issues, and their families.
FNP does not provide diagnosis, treatment, counselling or crisis services. Instead, our team of experts helps young people and/or their families navigate the system more easily to find and gain access to resources, such as service providers and treatment centres.
About Us
FNP helps youth and families find their way through the mental health and addictions system. While FNP does not provide treatment or crisis response, it does connect youth and families to a Family Navigator who helps them figure out where to go, who to talk to, and what services or resources might be the best fit.
Family Navigators work closely with youth and families to identify service and resource options to help them access the care they need. FNP refers to this kind of support as “mental health and addictions navigation”, supporting youth and families in accessing timely and appropriate care.
The Family Navigation Project (FNP) is a free service that is easy to access by phone, email or zoom and is available to:
- Youth aged 11 to 29 years
- Concerned family members seeking help for a young person in their life, including parents, siblings, partners, friends, extended family, and service providers.
- Any youth or family living in the Greater Toronto Area (Durham, Halton, Peel, Toronto, York)
*No referral, diagnosis or OHIP is required.
A phone call or email to FNP is all you need to get started.
- Youth or families are partnered with a Family Navigator, a clinically trained mental health professional.
- Family Navigators work closely with youth and families to identify service and resource options, create an individualized plan and path to care and communicate effectively with care service providers.
- The Family Navigator stays involved along your journey to help track progress, facilitate transitions and address barriers.
Youth and families may also connect with FNP’s Youth Advocate with Lived Experience (YAL) or Parent Advocate with Lived Experience (PAL). These staff members have lived experience of MHA issues or supporting youth with MHA issues. They provide peer support through personal experience
View further information on our service, including more details on how we protect your personal health information and ensure confidentiality.
The Family Navigation Project (FNP) is here to help young people and their families navigate the mental health and addictions system to find the care they need.
If you are 11 to 29 years old and experiencing mental health and/or addiction challenges, or are a concerned family member and live within the Greater Toronto Area (Durham, Halton, Peel, Toronto and York), please call or email us:
Phone: 1-800-380-9FNP or 1-800-380-9367
Email: familynavigation@sunnybrook.ca
Please leave a message and we will be in touch with you within one to two business days.
Note:
The Family Navigation Project is not a crisis response line. If you need help in a medical emergency, please call 911 or visit your local emergency department.
If you feel you are in crisis or need somebody to talk to, community resources are here to help:
- 1-833-456-4566 (24 hours, 7 days a week)
- Text: 45645 (4 p.m. – midnight ET)
- 1-800-668 6868 (voice)
- Text: 686868 (24 hours, 7 days a week)
At FNP, we conduct regular research and program evaluation. FNP is at the forefront of research efforts in family navigation in Canada.
Our research focuses on:
- Understanding the needs and experiences of youth with mental health and/or addiction concerns and their families. Specifically in accessing services in the mental health and addictions system.
- Advancing knowledge, support and resources for youth with mental health and/or addiction issues and their families.
- Exploring the outcomes of navigation supports for youth with mental health and/or addiction concerns and their families.
To learn more about our research activities, please contact fnpresearch@sunnybrook.ca
Youth mental health and/or addictions (MHA) navigation programs across Canada have varying practices and models. The NavMAP Standards synthesize existing evidence and promising practices to guide youth MHA navigation programs. These standards are a voluntary resource and their use will depend on the scope, local context, capacity, and other qualities of your youth MHA navigation program.
The NavMAP Standards are based on research conducted by Family Navigation Project from 2022-2024. A list of works cited can be provided upon request.
Canadian youth who struggle with mental health and addictions issues.
youth and families FNP has navigated for since launching in 2013.
new youth and families supported each year.
of clients would recommend FNP to their family or friends.
Related Resources
Support the Family Navigation Project
The Family Navigation Project (FNP) is funded entirely through philanthropy, with infrastructure support through Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. FNP is grateful for the support it receives from the RBC Race for the Kids, individual philanthropists, and corporate and family foundations.
