Content warning: A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available to provide support for Survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour service at 1-866-925-4419. More resources can be found via the Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program.

Introduction

The following information and resources are meant to offer support for First Nations and community members in accessing services for mental health support, site searches and funding. These lists are not exhaustive and will be periodically updated. For more information, please contact Jackie Lombardi, Director of Justice, at jackie.lombardi@coo.org.

List of Residential Schools in Ontario:

  • Bishop Horden Hall (Moose Fort, Moose Factory), Moose Island, Ontario
  • Cecilia Jeffrey (Kenora, Shoal Lake), Kenora, Ontario
  • Chapleau (St. John’s), Chapleau, Ontario
  • Cristal Lake High School (September 1, 1976 to June 30, 1986)
  • Fort Frances (St. Margaret’s), Fort Frances, Ontario
  • Fort William (St. Joseph’s), Fort William, Ontario
  • McIntosh, McIntosh, Ontario
  • Mohawk Institute, Brantford, Ontario
  • Mount Elgin (Muncey, St. Thomas), Munceytown, Ontario
  • Pelican Lake (Pelican Falls), Sioux Lookout, Ontario
  • Poplar Hill, Poplar Hill, Ontario
  • Anne’s (Fort Albany), Fort Albany, Ontario
  • Mary’s (Kenora, St. Anthony’s), Kenora, Ontario
  • Shingwauk (Wawanosh Home), Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
  • Spanish Boys School (Charles Garnier, St. Joseph’s, formerly Wikwemikong Industrial), Spanish, Ontario
  • Spanish Girls School (St. Joseph’s, St. Peter’s, St. Anne’s formerly Wikwemikong Industrial), Spanish, Ontario
  • Stirland Lake High School/Wahbon Bay Academy (September 1, 1971 to June 30, 1991)
  • Wawanosh Home (January 1, 1879 to August 5, 1892), Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Mental Health Supports

The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: Call: 1-866-925-4419.

The crisis line is available 24 hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of a residential school experience. For more information on the program, please refer to the First Nations Health Authority website.

Professional Counselling

Professional counselling is offered by psychologists and social workers who are registered with Indigenous Services Canada through Non-Insured Health Benefits and the Program.

Coverage:

  1. The initial assessment covered – 2 hours
  2. Counselling sessions covered are 60 hours 1-2 hour sessions (If the client is traveling to the counseling session minimum of 2 hours needs to be booked)

All former Indian Residential School students regardless of the individual’s status or place of residence, and family members that have been directly impacted, are eligible to receive services. Please visit the Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program website for more information.

The Hope for Wellness Help Line offers immediate help to all Indigenous peoples across Canada in the following languages: Ojibway, Cree, Inuktut, English, French. They provide 24/7 culturally grounded assessment, referrals, counselling and support in times of crisis, and suicide intervention.

Call: 1-855-242-3310 (toll-free)

Connect to the Hope for Wellness online chat.

Talk 4 Healing provides 24/7 culturally sensitive counselling, advice and support to Indigenous women, in the following languages: Ojibway, Oji-Cree, Cree, English, French.

Call: 1-855-554-4325 or visit the Talk 4 Healing website for online support.

Provides 24/7 support to family, friends and community members who are being impacted by the loss of a missing or murdered Indigenous woman, girl or Two-spirit person, in English and French.

Call: 1-844-413-6649

Call Auntie is a service offered to the Indigenous community in Toronto through the Seven Generation Midwives. The helpline began as a service to provide COVID-19 information and resources but has since evolved to support overall health and well-being through staying connected with one another during the pandemic.

Call: 437-703-8703

Visit the Call Auntie Clinic Website for more information.

NAN Hope is the Nishnawbe Aski Mental Health and Addictions Support Access Program for NAN community members. The program provides crisis services, navigation on mental health and addictions support services and rapid access to counselling.

Call: 1-844-626-4673

Visit the NAN Hope website for more information.

The Council provides a network of Indigenous primary health care services, teams and centres.

View the map of local IPHCC members to find a health care service near you.

Friendship Centres offer a wide variety of programming for the cultural, spiritual, and overall well-being of urban Indigenous peoples across Ontario. Visit the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centre’s website to find your local friendship centre.

Canada Suicide Prevention Helpline

This Helpline is available 24/7 for anyone is who thinking about suicide, who knows someone who is considering suicide, or is struggling with a loss from suicide. Please visit the Canada Suicide Prevention Service website for more information.

Call: 1-833-456-4566

Kids Help Phone

Provides 24/7 anonymous and non-judgmental support to youth and teens with services in English and French.

Call: 1-800-668-6868 or visit the Kids Help Phone website for more information on their services.

Site Search Resources

The CAA has designated web content to assist communities and organizations in their efforts to locate missing children and search potential unmarked burial sites. This information is updated as it becomes available.

Visit the CAA website for more information.

The NCTR website contains vast amounts of information for survivors and their families, along with reports, records, and further educational supports.

Visit the NCTR website for more information.

Based out of Queens University, Geophysics For Truth is a volunteer initiative of geophysicists that provide support and information regarding geophysical surveys, training, and expertise for Indigenous projects across Canada.

Visit the Geophysics for Truth website for more information.

For further information on geophysics, please see “Geophysics and Unmarked Graves, A Short Introduction for Communities” by William T. D. Wadsworth.

Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, in partnership with the CAA and the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology, offered this free webinar on best practices in remote sensing and grave detection.

The National Centre for Truth & Reconciliation hosted a panel discussion of academics entitled, “Academic Panel on Missing Children.”

The National Centre for Truth & Reconciliation hosted an online panel entitled, “A Survivors Panel on Missing Children.”

Funding

Information about this funding for 2025-2026 can be found here: https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1622742779529/1628608766235#s6
General email: aadnc.enfants_disparus-missing_children.aandc@canada.ca

Contact Information:

Mandy McCarthy, Acting Director General Director, Policy, Planning and Reporting Settlement Agreements and Childhood Claims Branch, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs

Phone: 873-353-3463;
Email:  amanda.mccarthy@canada.ca
General email: aadnc.enfants_disparus-missing_children.aandc@canada.ca

Indigenous Affairs, Ontario (IAO)

Inquires about funding for specific supports can be forwarded to the contacts listed below.

Contact Information:

Lareina Rising

Manager, Residential Schools Unit

Email: Lareina.Rising@ontario.ca

National Centre for Truth & Reconciliation

NCTR’s Na-mi-quai-ni-mak Community Support Fund is available to support Indigenous communities, Survivor Organizations, registered non-profits, and others with small grants for memorial activities. Visit the NCTR website for more information on the fund.

Contact Information:

Brooke Bunn, Commemoration and Community Engagement Liaison
Phone: 204-474-6069
Email: brooke.bunn@umanitoba.ca

Future Generations Foundation – Continuing Their Journey Program

The “Continuing Their Journey” (CTJ) Program is to support First Nation communities and Survivors with projects directly related to the burial sites and unmarked graves at former Indian Residential Schools. CTJ is specifically intended to address the traumas of the Indian Residential Schools System experienced by Survivors and their descendants residing in First Nation communities following the recovery and presence of unmarked graves at a former Indian Residential School site. For more information please visit: https://www.fgfoundation.ca/granting/continuing-their-journey

Contact Information:
Dwight Bero Jr., Program Manager
1 (888)-268-0520 ext. 813
dbero@fgfoundation.ca
info@fgfoundation.ca

Nishnawbe Aski Nation’s Reclamation and Healing Department has created resources for First Nations people to learn more about the Independent Assessment Process for compensation claims of abuse at residential schools. They are listed below and on their website.

Through two grant streams, The Blanket Fund will provide support for Indigenous cultural, artistic, and educational activities. Indigenous people, as well as Indigenous-led initiatives and organizations in Canada, are eligible.

Contact Information:

General email: und@downiewenjack.ca

Telephone: 1-833-666-2414 ext. 13

Contact the Chiefs of Ontario

Jackie Lombardi
Director of Justice
Jackie.Lombardi@coo.org
Toronto Office: (416) 597-1266
Toll-Free: 1-877-517-6527

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