Updated: 2020-12-12

This page is no longer actively maintained, and the information and resources on this page may no longer be up-to-date. We understand that mental health remains a critical issue for many individuals and communities, and we continue to be committed to providing useful and relevant resources. However, we would like to caution you to use the information on this page with care and discretion.

We recommend that you seek out the latest guidance and resources from reputable sources, including public health agencies and mental health organizations. Please note that any information or resources provided on this page should not be considered as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment.

If you’re experiencing a mental health crisis right now, please refer to the Resources page.

If you develop symptoms of the COVID-19, contact your local public health unit.

If you need immediate medical attention or your life is in immediate danger, call 911 and mention your travel history and symptoms.

YMHC Online Mental Health Platforms

Follow our online mental health platforms: we have the largest and most engaged mental health platform in Canada.

YMHC Services

  • Compassionate Card Service ❤️ – Struggling with your mental health? You can request a personalized message of support from one of our peer support team members.

YMHC Resources

Disclaimer: Youth Mental Health Canada has not reviewed all of the sites linked to its website and is not responsible for the contents of any such linked site. The inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by Youth Mental Health Canada of the site. Use of any such linked website is at the user’s own risk.

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Mental Health

Managing your mental health

Dealing with COVID-19 Loss and Grief

Social Services

Supporting Each Other/Community

Being Active

  • 8fit offers quick home workouts
  • Daily Burn is offering 2 months free of their online workout classes
  • Downdog is offering all of their apps for free until April 1 (Down Dog, Yoga for Beginners, HIIT, Barre, and 7 Minute Workout)
  • Doyogawithme offers free yoga classes for all different levels
  • Fitbit is offering select Premium features for free; and extended trial of premium to 90 days
  • Lululemon is offering yoga and meditation videos, free
  • Nike Training Club app is completely free and has amazing guided workouts
  • Peloton Digital are now offering a 90 day free trial of their app
  • Wakeout has fun 30s stretching & relaxation exercises, offers 7-days free trial
  • Wollendance Cardio dance fitness class live & on-demand, offer 14-days free trial

Mindfulness & Meditation

  • Balance – (iOS) This month, they’re offering a completely free one-year subscription to Balance to anyone who wants it. Email [email protected] for instructions
  • Calm.com is offering free meditations
  • Free Mindfulness Circle for Anxiety & Relief Support in Time of COVID19. Daily online practice from March 23-29 from noon to 12:30PM EST, free
  • Headspace is offering free meditations for COVID19
  • Healthy Minds app – Training your mind is the key to your emotional well-being, free
  • HERE Meditation: The HERE mobile app is designed to help rapidly relieve stress & anxiety. It works by pairing interactive exercises (staring/swiping), with breathing, music and/or guided meditation to stimulate the relaxation response and promote executive functioning. This game-like approach can be used by the whole family, and may help calm cabin fever, or provide a mental break in between homeschool activities. The mobile app is entirely free and accessible for iOS and Android users
  • Insight timer – app for meditations with lots of great free meditations
  • Prana Breath (Android) – free app for guided breathing
  • Sounds True – Free 3-video series discover the power of self-compassion
  • Sue Hutton Mindfulness – Free online mindfulness events amidst COVID19 – every Friday 7-8PM (EST) via Zoom (link goes to Facebook event page for more details)

Online talk therapy

  • 7 Cups connects you to caring listeners for free emotional support 24/7; or be a listener for others
  • Affordable Therapy Network – offering reduced rates, low-cost, sliding scale online therapy options
  • BetterHelp offers $40 to $70 weekly plans (can also be via text or chat – not just video call) – US-based, but clients can be from anywhere
  • Big White Wall – is a free, online mental health and wellbeing service that helps people who are dealing with everyday stressors or major life events. Available 24/7/365
  • COVID19 Therapists – Facilitating free mental health services for Ontario COVID-19 healthcare providers
  • Good2Talk – Good2Talk provides confidential support services for post-secondary students in Ontario and Nova Scotia. This hotline is also free.
  • Greenspace Mental Health – finds you a therapist matched to your needs, available for GTA. Sessions in person or online video (therapy fees apply)
  • Inkblot virtual therapy sessions ($37.50/30 min sessions, first session is free)
  • New Creations Counseling – offers online therapy for individuals and couples with sliding scale
  • Open Path Collective – offering sliding scale individual ($30-$60) and couples and families ($30-$80) therapy options
  • Pathway-Therapy, in-person and online options. Currently offering sliding-scales to support a wider range of people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Real Campus Student Assistance Program (run by Shift Collab). If you are a University or College student at eligible campuses you have access to free therapy sessions. Visit the website for eligibility here.
  • Shift Collab, in-person and online options. Sliding scale options. Free initial consult call.
  • Talkspace is offering $100 off their plans
  • E-counseling – Cost: $45-70. An in-depth guide to online talk therapy. E-counseling is the leading resource for telehealth and teletherapy, with over 3 million readers.

Emotional Support Resources

  • Calm – app to support with sleep, stress, and mental health
  • Emotional & Logistics Check-In – Google Form that can be used for camps, workshops, courses, etc. (online or hybrid) – to check in with all participants on emotions and tech access
  • GoNoodle Kids – for physical and mental health, app-based as well as online, best for elementary students. Includes yoga, mindfulness, and exercise with fun videos.
  • Headspace – both online and app-based resource for meditation and mindfulness practice
  • Kids Help Phone – COVID-19 – links and trustworthy information for youth that may be struggling during coronavirus, including online chat, text, and other counselling available for free 24/7

Staying Creative and Having Fun

Staying Creative

Art Experiences

  • American Archive of Public Broadcasting: Discover historic programs of publicly funded radio and television across America. Watch and listen.
  • ART21: Art21 is a celebrated global leader in presenting thought-provoking and sophisticated content about contemporary art, and the go-to place to learn first-hand from the artists of our time. A nonprofit organization, Art21’s mission is to inspire a more creative world through the works and words of contemporary artists.
  • Arte: ARTE strives to offer a wider choice of TV programs to people in Europe and beyond.
  • Digital Public Library: Discover 36,807,992 images, texts, videos, and sounds from across the United States.
  • Girl Museum: Explore our four unique exhibition series that tell stories about girls around the world from the past and present. Please note that our exhibitions are viewable on all devices. However, interactive content is best viewed on a desktop, laptop or tablet.
  • Google Arts and Culture: Tours of 500 of the World’s Most Famous Museums
  • Hollyhock House Virtual Tour: Virtual tour of DCA’s Frank Lloyd Wright Hollyhock House, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Kinder Art: KinderArt® contains easy to follow lessons for grades K through 8, for art teachers, classroom teachers, homeschoolers, studio owners, after-school program directors, future teachers, college students, and curious parents who want to enrich their children’s artistic lives at home.
  • Learn at Home: Even when schools are closed, you can keep the learning going with these special cross-curricular journeys. Every day includes four separate learning experiences, each built around a thrilling, meaningful story or video. Kids can do them on their own, with their families, or with their teachers. Just find your grade level and let the learning begin! -The Editors of Scholastic Classroom Magazines.
  • Los Angeles Public Library: E-media and digital content.
  • Musical Instrument Museums Online: The world’s largest freely accessible database for information on musical instruments held in public collections.
  • National Museum of African American History and Culture: Online educational resources for families, and an opportunity to explore items from their collection.
  • National Museum of Natural History: Virtual Tour
  • Playbill: From Newsiesto Sweeney Todd, we’re running down some of the best filmed Broadway shows—and where to find them
  • Smithsonian Learning Lab
  • The Metropolitan Opera: During this extraordinary and difficult time, the Met hopes to brighten the lives of our audience members even while our stage is dark. Every day for the duration of the Met’s closure, a different encore presentation from the company’s Live in HD series will be made available for free streaming.
  • The Social Distancing Festival Find out about livestreams put out by art organizations around the world. This is a site for celebrating artists and the work that has been cancelled/delayed/disrupted. If you’re an artist, submit your work!

Arts and Educational Resources for Children and Youth

  • 123 Homeschool Me, free worksheets 1st – 8th grade
  • Simple: Purple Mash is a website designed for children aged 3-11. It contain creative tools for coding, animation, publishing, art and also applications for math, spelling and grammar.
  • AFSA Education Foundation: The entire MoneySKILL course is available for teachers, parents, and other educators for free at all times.
  • All Kids Network: Free resources for parents and teachers, crafts, worksheets, coloring pages, printable mazes, dot to dot, hidden pictures and more.
  • Boromi: A multi award-winning network of play libraries empowering families to connect, talk and play together at home.
  • Chrome Music Lab: Chrome Music Lab is a website that makes learning music more accessible through fun, hands-on experiments.
  • Coloring Nature: Our coloring categories include serious science: biomes, anatomy, animals, plants and more, plus some pure whimsy – just for fun.
  • Common Lit: CommonLit is a nonprofit edtech company with an online library of over 1,500 authentic reading passages, text sets, units, and digital learning tools.
  • Creating a Masterpiece: An award-winning fine art training program for students 5 and up. First month of access to our award winning Drawing Program is free with the code: Corona2020
  • Brave Writer: Free resources, ready-made lesson plans, master classes. Some resources free due to pandemic.
  • Busy Kids Do Piano: Free month of lessons with coupon code PIANOATHOM
  • Didax has some really great features and ideas to work with virtual manipulatives for math at home
  • Duolingo: Learning with Duolingo is fun and addictive. Earn points for correct answers, race against the clock and level up. Always free (paid options, but base content always free)
  • English52: Free English course. Learn English online – at your own pace, in your own place, with fun and exciting E52! Quickly go from beginner to advanced, with your free video lessons and activities.
  • ESL Library: We are offering Plus subscriptions to all Standard users, and our printable lessons on Pandemics and The Coronavirus are also currently free for non-members.
  • FabuLingua: FabuLingua teaches Spanish through interactive stories on mobile phones and tablets. FabuLingua is suspending their subscription services and providing their entire platform for free to all families and schools while schools are closed. Simply download it from the App Store or Google play.
  • Felt With Love Designs: Lots of free sewing patterns and tips to learn to sew!
  • GoNoodle: GoNoodle® engages 14 million kids every month with movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts. Available for free for school and home use.
  • Heifer International: FREE resources (downloadable books, mazes, word searches, and more) from Heifer International’s school programs — with topics in social studies (geography, economics), science, language arts.
  • HippoCampus: Explore over 7,000 free videos in 13 subject areas. You can create a free account and create customized playlists too.Always free
  • Imagine Children’s Museum: Today I am passing along our YouTube channel if interested, we are adding educational and FUN videos daily! FREE educational videos
  • Joy Sun Bear: Joy Sun Bear promotes learning about the world’s diverse cultures through free stories, crafts, recipes, coloring and activity sheets, games and more! Our goal is to empower, encourage and educate children to be positive global citizens. Free stories, crafts, recipes, color and activity sheets, games, videos, reading comprehension and creative activities.
  • Jumpstart has a variety of free lessons and activities to do with children of many different ages. If you have a printer, many of the activities or worksheets are PDF, and ready to print.
  • K12MovieGuides: A list of free movie guides for students of varying ages and abilities
  • Khan Academy Kids: Khan Academy Kids is a free, award-winning online education program for children ages 2 – 7. Our mobile app was designed by child development experts at Stanford University and engages kids in core subjects like early literacy, reading, writing, language, and math, while encouraging creativity and building social-emotional skills. It is age-appropriate, personalized based on where your child is at, and engaging. Always free, no ads, no subscriptions, with an offline version available for when internet access is difficult.
  • Multiplication offers a variety of ways to help with multiplication, and goes by grade level
  • PBS: As part of the public media mission to ensure all kids, regardless of their capabilities have access to continued free educational resources at home, PBS SoCal | KCET, in partnership with LAUSD and in collaboration with California PBS stations are offering broadcast programming and accompanying digital resources that adhere to California’s state curriculum to provide continued at-home learning.
  • Scholastic “Learn At Home” provides great reading activities with a ton of variety
  • Starfall – practice reading
  • We Are Teachers provides a list of 40 activities or things your child can do while at home

Virtual camps & courses, e-learning

  • 38 Ways to Use the Library from Home (Toronto Public Library)
  • 38 Ways to Use the Library from Home (Toronto Public Library)
  • Actua’s Activities – range of hands-on activities for STEM, coding & digital skills
  • AI4ALL Open Learning – platform for high school students to learn fundamentals of AI, does not require any computer science background, 30+ hours of curriculum
  • Code.org – Coding lessons and activities, free access, can store progress if you create an account
  • Crescendo’s D&I Learning Platform is free for 6 weeks with learning tracks about: Connecting Pandemics & Xenophobia, COVID-19 & Socio-Economic Status, and Inclusive Remote Work
  • Crescendo’s D&I Learning Platform is free for 6 weeks with learning tracks about: Connecting Pandemics & Xenophobia, COVID-19 & Socio-Economic Status, and Inclusive Remote Work
  • DataCamp – data science course-based learning online, best suited for older (teenage) audience
  • Edx – Free online courses from top universities
  • Edx – Free online courses from top universities
  • Elements of AI – online course to learn basics of AI, does not require any coding knowledge or experience. Best suited for older (teenage) audience.
  • Fold ‘N Fly – Fold ‘N Fly is a collection of guides on how to make various types of paper airplanes. This opens the door to testing which ones work better and why they work better, i.e. drag, weight distribution, and wing span, etc.
  • Home With Kids, Now What? – project ideas curated from the Internet, based on what material(s) you have on hand – including cardboard, balloons, LEGO, plastic bags, and more.
  • Idea Maker Course – free until June 15 – self-paced course with videos, worksheets, and other resources to teach youth entrepreneurship
  • Instructables – combination of tech-based and construction activities that use maker approaches to encourage prototyping and experimentation.
  • MakeDo – A MakeDo kit includes two tools and plastic screws, all you need is cardboard and it allows the user to create structures as if they were using wood and workshop tools!
  • Nasa Visualiser – This app lets youth explore earth and the entire solar system through the eyes of their fleet of research spacecraft.
  • National Geographic Science Lab – activities that can be completed at home, with accompanying video tutorials – e.g., waterproof clothes, squishy eggs, floating penny
  • Nearpod Lesson Bank – K-12 lessons across all subjects
  • Science World Teaching Resources – lesson plans based on curriculum, filter by type, topic, grade, and language. Covers preschool up to Grade 12, most can be done with materials already in the house.
  • Starfall – For Grades K-3. There are a number of sections that are free but certain modules require premium access
  • The Science of Well-Being free 2-week MOOC from Yale designed to teach you how to build healthy habits and increase your happiness
  • The Science of Well-Being free 2-week MOOC from Yale designed to teach you how to build healthy habits and increase your happiness

Online games & interactives

  • 360 Science – 360 Science is a hub of educational videos that takes advantage of AR and VR to place the user in the setting. Many videos explore the processes of nature, and how we affect it.
  • Actua’s AI Activities – a mix of online interactives and background info for youth and educators exploring artificial intelligence online
  • Calculation Nation – Challenge yourself or play against others in these fun games that rely and reinforce mathematical principles for any age.
  • Codingville.ca – free online platform to learn coding (both block and text-based coding)
  • How Stuff Works – This website hosts articles and videos aimed at a older audience (14-18) examining how different things work, similarly to “Myth Busters” but more practical and less theoretical.
  • Interland (Google’s Be Internet Awesome) – for youth to learn about digital citizenship and online safety in a fun, interactive environment
  • Kodable – fundamentals for coding instruction, ages 4-10
  • March Mammal Madness – animals vs animals in this bracket! Kids can make predictions about what animal will triumph (print off the PDF) and learn about different species.
  • Math Blaster – An online collection of math games for students in K-6.
  • Media Smarts Games – cyber safety, digital citizenship, and online awareness for youth through online games. Filter by topic of interest.
  • MIT Education Arcade – links to various online interactives, including background info for parents/educators to explore learning
  • NASA Kids Club – NASA Kids Club is an online hub of educational videos and articles about the ISS, space travel, and the science behind it. An archive of apps relating to NASA or their work can also be found on this site.
  • National Geographic Kids – games, videos, reading, etc. – also has links to science lab experiments that can be completed at home
  • NOVA – NOVA is a weekly STEM show that has been airing for over two decades, on their site you can find an archive of many of their episodes.
  • Ocean Alive! Playlist – from Ocean Networks Canada, videos and other online learning about ocean conservation.
  • Prodigy– online math platform for Grades 1-8
  • Scratch – Free block coding software, the desktop app comes with a number of free lessons to get people started with block coding, complete with pictures!
  • Tynker – coding challenges, tutorials, and online platforms for kids learning to code
  • Wonderville.org – online games, videos, puzzles with curriculum-aligned STEM content (note: currently requires subscription)
  • Kid-Friendly Coding Languages and Learning Tools – This resource is aimed to target coding beginners, particularly younger children, and walk through the various tools and programs for learning

Educational apps (smartphone or tablet-based)

  • Khan Kids – App for Ages 2-7 (Basic arithmetic and Emotional Learning)
  • My Molecularium – Aimed at high school students, the goal of the game is to successfully assemble different molecules, in a fun game like atmosphere.
  • Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System – This app walks viewers (6-12) through the creation and make up of the universe through a fun, engaging, and entertaining storyline.
  • Pyonkee – Similar to Scratch, block-based coding environment to learn coding
  • SAT Prep by Ready4 – App for ages 14 – 18 (review and practice for math and language concepts relating to the SAT testing)
  • ScratchJr – basic block coding app, great for younger kids (K-3)
  • SoloLearn – This app is a collection of tutorials and demos on how to code in a number of coding languages for beginners or pros.
  • WWF Together – Put together by the World Wildlife Foundation this app features a collection of lessons on many animals from across the globe.

Educational Podcasts & Videos

  • Bill Nye – Bill Nye’s website includes a complete archive of episodes from Bill Nye the Science Guy, and Bill Nye Saves the World. It also features demos and tutorials on how to recreate some of his experiments at home.
  • Half as Interesting: Slightly different then wendover productions, Half as Interesting uses comedy to look at and examine the underlying factors and concepts in many global events and breakthroughs. Recommended age range, grade 6 and up.
  • TED Talks Daily – Lots of great talks on a variety of topics, appropriate for an older audience (high-school)
  • The 25 Best Podcasts for Kids: recommendations for stories, science experiments, kid-friendly news, and more.
  • The B1M – This YouTube channel is dedicated to looking at some of the world’s most innovative construction projects. Videos include examining mega projects, how they are built and what impact they have among many other construction and architecture related topics.
  • The Best Ideas for Kids has a great list of the best educational videos for kids on Youtube.
  • Wendover Productions – This YouTube channel uses comedy and animation to educate viewers on a wide range of topics. Ranging from Health, Architecture, Politics, Economics, or science nearly any topic can be found. This resource is aimed at high school level youth due to the complexity of the subject matter.

Resources for Teachers/Educators moving online

Other education-related compilation lists

Community Response & Support Networks

List compiled by [email protected]

In response to COVID-19, many grassroots groups have emerged with the shared goal of organizing to ensure vulnerable community members have access to food, housing, healthcare, and other necessities.They’re also redistributing resources in case stockpiling prevents people from accessing basics.

This document contains the latest list of groups in Canada, primarily city-wide groups organized virtually over facebook. You can also find local neighbourhood pods here

Ontario

Toronto

Ottawa

Guelph

Niagara

Peel

Kingston and Thousand Islands

Hamilton

Peterborough

Belleville/Trenton

Oakville

London – Caremongering London, ON – Community & Activist Responses to Covid-19

Windsor/Essex – CareMongering- Windsor/Essex Community Response to COVID-19 and beyond

Kitchener-Waterloo – CareMongering-KW: Kitchener-Waterloo Community Response to COVID 19

Burlington – CareMongering BURLINGTON: Share/Swap/Help Covid-19

Halton Hills – CareMongering Halton Hills (Acton and Georgetown) Community during COVID19

Cambridge – CareMongering-Cambridge: Cambridge Community Response to COVID 19

Haldimand – CareMongering-Haldimand ON: Community Response to COVID19

Sudbury – Caremongering – Sudbury, ON

Stirling – Caremongering Stirling

Temiskaming Shores – Caremongering – Temiskaming Shores

Town of the Blue Mountains – CareMongering – Town of the Blue Mountains & Area

Barrie – CareMongering – Barrie: Community Response to COVID-19

Meaford – CareMongering – Meaford Community and Area

Northumberland – Caremongering-Northumberland County Community Response to COVID-19 & Beyond

North Bay – CareMongering-NB: North Bay, ON Community Response to COVID19

Orangeville And Area CAREMONGERING

Clarington Covid-19 Community Group

Waterdown – Caremongering-WaterdownONT

Centre Wellington – CareMongering Centre Wellington – CW Community Response to COVID19

Cornell/Markham – CareMongering-Cornell/Markham: Community Response to COVID-19

North Grenville Community Response (NGCR)

PEC Caremongering group

Petawawa – Caremongering Petawawa

Renfrew – Caremongering Renfrew County and Area

Eastern Ontario – Caremongering – Eastern Ontario

Quebec

Bas-Saint-Laurent

Mauricie / Centre-du-Québec

Montreal and surroundings (FR and EN)

Capitale-Nationale – COVID-19 Entraide autogérée Ville de Québec

Côte-Nord – Entraide Minganie – Covid-19

Laurentides – Caremongering Laurentides: Réponse Communitaire au COVID-19

Pointe-Claire – Caremongering-Pointe-Claire QC

 

Outaouais

 

Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean et Nord-du-Québec

 

Caremongering St-Lazare, Hudson, Rigaud, Vaudreuil

Indigenous Resources

Anishinaabemowin Classes

Films and Entertainment

  • Accessible Indigenous-made films from the National Film Board
  • #Indigenous – A Spotify Playlist by Nadya Kwandibens featuring current Indigenous musicians and old favourites
  • Live From My Living Room with Indigenous Musician Iskwe – 7 p.m. EST every night on her Instagram: @iskwe. Featuring a concert, artist talk and special guests.
  • Live Shows with Indigenous Musician, Jeremy Dutcher – Jeremy Dutcher is a classically trained operatic tenor and composer who takes every opportunity to blend his Wolastoq First Nation roots into the music he creates, blending distinct musical aesthetics that shape-shift between classical, traditional, and pop to form something entirely new. There is no set time nor dates for Jeremy’s live sessions but you can follow him on Instagram and on Facebook to stay updated

Education, Crafting, and Activities

  • Bead This In Your Style Challenge – Every month, a NEW ARTIST will be giving a design for you to interpret in your own style! This challenge is to challenge yourself as an artist, to bring out your own style from someone else’s designs. This helps to realize your style, and also practice and focus mainly on your beading techniques. Or to try out new techniques! Review their social media pages on Facebook or Instagram to see their current designs, review the terms, and participate.
  • Beading With Me! with Indigenous Artist, Nalakwsis – Nalakwsis is an indigenous artist based in Whapmagoostui, QC. Live Tutorials will be happening via on her Instagram page where you can also keep updated on beading session dates and information
  • Cleaning a Porcupine – part 1: Removing the Hair Youtube Series
  • Fish Skin Tanning Video Series with Anishinaabe, Amber Sandy – IGTV videos that can be found on Amber Sandy’s Instagram
  • Canadian Bushcraft LIVE – A series of videos highlighting bush living, skills, foraging, plant identification, etc. with Anishinaabe Caleb Musgrave. Every Monday and Tuesday at 2 p.m. EST via Facebook Live. Follow the official Canadian Bushcraft Facebook Page for video details and information.
  • Webinar Series: Revitalizing Star Knowledge – Hosted by: The First Nation, Metis, and Inuit Education Association of Ontario. “Join us as we share our collective knowledge and weave together Indigenous knowledge, Astronomy, Science and Mathematics.” For more info please go to Isaac Murdoch’s Facebook page OR go to bit.ly/starsweb1 for more information and to register. NOTE – THIS WILL BE RECORDED AND POSTED ON THEIR WEBSITE: www.fnmieao.com

Other

Quarantine Dance Specials 2020 Facebook Page – Bringing together dancers from across Turtle Island and engage in virtual powwow specials often with prizes, winner-take-all, and mostly to provide positivity, medicine, and connection. Anyone can join in.

Contribute to this list

CREDIT:

Compiled by Sheryl Boswell, Executive Director of YMHC

The following people have contributed to this list:

Names are listed in alphabetical order.