We are a community of practice of people with lived experience of mental health and addictions services/challenges based in Toronto, Canada, founded in 2017. This site was created in November 2021 and is being added to over time. If you are a current or past COP member interested in helping to develop this site, you know how to get in touch. Funds to compensate you for your work are available.
Note that the below are due for revisiting and possible revision – David Mordecai COP Lead
Our Vision is for equitable, meaningful and sustainable integration of people with lived experience and our knowledges into service provider education.
Our Mission: Holding a brave space for service user educators in creating a responsive mental health and addictions system through advocacy, education and support.
Our Purpose
To provide a space for authentic dialogue that is based on empathy and respects boundaries, privacy, confidentiality and trust of the membership. We understand and acknowledge that teaching health professionals and becoming involved in educational initiatives can be exhausting and at times feel burdensome. Thus, our intention is to advocate for and support each other to continue to do this work by providing support to one another through a community of practice (CoP).
Join our email list for notices here.
Our Core Values
Service user leadership: we are a service-user-led group.
Co-operation: Collaboration, co-production and knowledge sharing
Integrity: acceptance through kindness, generosity, validation, humility, humor and genuine care for one another, honesty, transparency and trust.
Diversity: of identities, experiences, needs, skills and abilities.
Equity: through anti-oppression approaches, social justice and advocacy for self-care and self-knowledge.
Respect: validation for the presence of members who wear multiple hats. Show all members unconditional high regard.
Strength Based Approach: Everyone has something to teach and everyone has something to learn.