Philosophy

Cross-Cultural

The Toronto Aboriginal Care Team respects the need for Aboriginal cultural approaches to healing and recovery as well as for modern medical and therapeutic resources. We strive to address a continuum of healing needs, rather than simply moving clients through institutions that look at different parts of the person separately. Our ultimate aim is to facilitate improvements in broader Aboriginal community health and support family healing. We ground our approach in Aboriginal cultural values by addressing physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs of individuals to restore balance and harmony within the individual, family and community.

Client Centered

Each person's life path is unique and community members should have access to services based on their individual needs. We understand that there are many root causes to addictions and mental health conditions and that it is important to address the underlying causes of these conditions, as well as the impacts of various types of trauma, such as sexual assault, physical, mental and emotional abuse, family dysfunction and loss of culture. We recognize that these symptoms and histories are different for everyone and strive to ensure a client-centered approach that supports the best possible path of individualized care for each client. We also recognize that no matter what someone may be going through, each person has a gift to bring and a role to play in the community, and that the purpose of healing is to restore balance to people so they can share their gift and carry out their responsibilities and commitment to the community.

• We build on your strengths rather than just focusing on your problems.
• We make ourselves available at flexible times based on client needs; Case Managers are available from 10 am to 8 pm from Monday to Friday, to accommodate working clients.
• We are sensitive to clients’ limitations, and will try where possible to come to you or help you get to where you need to go.
• Our Counselors are available at various locations in the GTA.

Community Based

We focus on family and community wide healing, emphasizing approaches that link different agencies and facilitate an integration of the diverse knowledge and resources available for Aboriginal people in Toronto. Our philosophy is to support the building of communities rather than institutions.

We regard the individual, family and community as inseparable and interrelated, with each part of the family and community affecting all others. We look at clients not from an institutional framework, as isolated individuals, but rather within a broader family and community context. We encourage supportive engagement with the client's family wherever possible. Where this is not possible or the family is absent, we try to support the client in building a healthy circle of trust. An important part of any care plan is to build a healthy network. None of us can make it alone.