Celebrating transformative mental health pathways
MH+A Alliance welcomes new Chairs
The Mental Health + Addictions Alliance (MH+A Alliance) celebrates the contribution of outgoing chair, Paul Gregory. Gregory, who served the Alliance as Chair, leaves a legacy of innovation and collaboration that has transformed mental health and addictions care pathways in Halton.
Under Gregory's leadership, the MH+A Alliance established itself as a thought leader in community mental health, bringing together six community health organizations to build integrated solutions that address the complex challenges faced by individuals navigating mental health and addiction care.
“Leading the MH+A Alliance has been an extremely meaningful undertaking," said Paul Gregory. "By working together, we’ve been able to prove that when community health partners unite and share resources, we can effectively build solutions that make a profound impact system-wide. I'm incredibly proud of what we've accomplished—from establishing a single voice to developing digital pathways that are breaking down silos across our healthcare system. We need to continue to work courageously if we want to make our system better.”
“Courage needs to replace caution, and we need to work differently if we want to make our system better.”
During Gregory's tenure, the Alliance achieved significant milestones that have strengthened Halton's mental health and addictions infrastructure. Key accomplishments include:
Strategic Planning and Partnership Development: Developed a comprehensive strategic plan that reinforces a singular voice for community mental health and established the Alliance as a critical care partner with the Halton region's Ontario Health Teams.
Formation of the EPPiC Team: Secured funding through the Interprofessional Primary Care Team (IPCT) to launch the Enhanced Primary Care Pathways and Integrated Care Team (EPPiC), expanding access to primary care for Halton's most vulnerable populations, including individuals who are unhoused with complex mental illness and substance use concerns. This has led to the establishment of a Mobile Health van to help divert clients from ER rooms by providing wrap-around care that meets people where they’re at.
Digital Health Care Pathways: Led the development of the Halton Digital Health Care initiative to create an interoperable system for patient and client flow across hospitals, community-based providers, and physician practitioners—to act as an enabler of seamless client address a critical gap in coordinated care.
DEI Leadership: Through a United Way Halton grant, produced a comprehensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion manual providing practical resources for creating more equitable and inclusive organizations across the sector.
The Alliance represents a $32.7M footprint in Halton, supporting 122,504 combined agency visits.
Gregory will be succeeded by Rashaad Vahed, CEO of Canadian Mental Health Association – Halton as Chair, and Glen Ricketts, CEO of ADAPT, as Vice-Chair.
“The Alliance has actively built critical partnerships with political, health, social and local leaders to create policies and programs that improve treatment, address unmet needs and divert hospital visits," said Vahed. “By integrating the efforts of our respective organizations, we’re facilitating greater collaboration, decision-making, and best practices for mental health and addiction services across the Halton region.”
“The MH+A Alliance has become a model for how community health organizations can work together to create meaningful system change,” added Glen Ricketts. “As co-chairs, Rashaad and I are eager to continue to champion the evidence-based, person-centred and evidence-based approaches to mental health and addictions care.”
The MH+A Alliance is a collaboration between the Canadian Mental Health Association - Halton, STRIDE, ADAPT, Summit Housing & Outreach Programs, HOPE Place Centres, and Support House—community health partners collectively serving individuals across the full spectrum of mental health and addictions support in Halton.