Resources Around Me FAQ

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    Kids Help Phone’s Resources Around Me tool helps connect young people to virtual and in-person support in communities across Canada.

    There are over 15,000 youth support programs and services listed in Resources Around Me. These resources include support for:

    • counselling and mental health
    • drugs, alcohol and gambling
    • physical health
    • housing and basic needs
    • jobs and money
    • legal and advocacy
    • violence and abuse
    • wellness and community
    • and more!

    Below, you can check out answers to frequently asked questions about Resources Around Me.

    FAQ

    The challenges youth in Canada are facing have grown more complex — and so have young people’s need for access to the supports that are most relevant to them. Resources Around Me has all of the important information you may need (e.g. eligibility, how to access, phone number, website, etc.) to find resources nearest you. It takes strength to reach out for support, so we work hard to help ensure you have appropriate resources when you need them. All of the services listed in Resources Around Me are added by our team of Resource Specialists who do their best to share services that are affordable and inclusive. To learn more about how we evaluate the resources listed, please review the section below about our Inclusion and Exclusion Policy and criteria.

    Kids Help Phone takes your privacy seriously. We don’t track — or keep — your search and/or location information when you use Resources Around Me. We can’t trace anything back to you as a visitor of the tool. If you choose to let the tool access your location for better search results, your information will not be stored by Kids Help Phone. Read more about our Privacy Policy.

    If you’d like some pointers to find the resources you’re looking for, check out our search tips page for more info. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, or would like to speak with someone at Kids Help Phone about a given resource, please call or text us for support.

    1. Agencies must be accessible to all persons regardless of financial status. Cost for service programs may be included if there is a nominal fee or sliding scale option.

    2. Agencies that are youth focused will be prioritized. However, a specific maximum age will not be imposed to ensure all available resources are made known to our users; a minimum age of five will be imposed.

    3. Agencies offering services to equity-deserving demographics will be prioritized for inclusion, particularly if they serve all ages.

    4. Agencies which provide human services in health, well-being, support and advocacy and are not-for-profit corporations, or do not charge fees for service, or are related to any project-specific initiative will be considered for addition to the Kids Help Phone Community Database.

    Government agencies (federal, provincial, county, municipal) which provide services in the areas of health, well-being, support and advocacy may also be included (although may not include all agencies, departments or services).

    For-profit organizations are considered on an individual basis. Inclusion is based upon uniqueness of service, lack of comparable services available through not-for-profit agencies or groups, degree of need for the service and the level of subsidized services available.

    Private practitioners, including medical doctors, dentists, legal / paralegal providers, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers (in private practice) are not included within our database.

    5. Agency records will be displayed in English, French or both and must be verified in one of those languages.

    6. Agencies must provide a clear description of service(s) offered including, but not limited to, contact information, agency address, eligibility, hours of service, area served, languages provided, fees, documents required, ages served, target population(s) served, website, social media page, application / referral / intake process and wheelchair accessibility information.

    Agencies will also respond to emailed verification requests to ensure quality of data and appropriate indexing.

    7. Agencies should describe and provide services free of discrimination. Services should be inclusive and respectful of people from a range of demographics including race, class, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

    8. Agencies should describe and provide services that align with Kids Help Phone’s values.

    To suggest a program for inclusion in Resources Around Me, you can reach out to [email protected].

    Kids Help Phone reserves the right to determine inclusion / exclusion for individual services at any time.

    Exclusion of a service from the Kids Help Phone Community Resource Database doesn’t necessarily reflect on the service’s contribution to the community. Nor does inclusion in the Kids Help Phone Community Resource Database represent or imply endorsement of the quality of the agency’s services.

    Service information is provided through direct contact with the agency. Information is also gathered indirectly from agency-sanctioned newsletters, websites and other publications.

    Kids Help Phone reserves the right to edit information to meet style, format and space requirements and other guidelines.

    Kids Help Phone reserves the right to exclude organizations that are unresponsive to update requests and whose information can’t be verified by other means.

    Kids Help Phone reserves the right to refuse or discontinue listings for services that have had serious complaints lodged against them with any regulatory body, Kids Help Phone or an information and referral centre in Canada, or that have participated in fraudulent or illegal activity.

    Kids Help Phone will send a copy of our Inclusion / Exclusion Policy to those who request it, as well as maintain an up-to-date version of this policy online at all times.