Our History

The Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health (CCSMH) was established in 2002 during a Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry Symposium identifying “Gaps in Mental Health Services for Seniors in Long-term Care”. The symposium participants, representing more than 65 organizations from across Canada, overwhelmingly supported the establishment of the CCSMH.

The Coalition is mandated to advocate for and promote seniors’ mental health and to connect people, ideas, and resources in the interest of research on seniors’ mental health.

The CCSMH has two co-chairs from the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry and a Steering Committee of fourteen organizations representing healthcare providers, people with lived experience of mental illness, policy makers, family and caregivers.