Warm and welcoming spaces

When Liza Mauer thinks about her decision to support women’s mental health at CAMH, she thinks of a girl in her neighbourhood who suffered from depression and died by suicide. It’s a tragic story like so many, and one that touched Liza deeply, saddened her teenage daughters and shocked the community in which they live.

"There are so many girls out there like this girl, and they need to be able to walk into CAMH and see the right doctor who can reach them, right away," Liza says. "Women and girls need a place that understands them better, a place that is more welcoming—a place for them."

Liza and her husband, Andrew Sheiner, are helping create that space through their generous support of the Women’s Complex Mental Illness inpatient unit. The unit will be an important part of CAMH’s new Complex Care Building, with construction set to begin by early 2017 and occupancy by early 2020.

The Complex Care Building will feature units for longer-stay patients and outpatient services, as well as an auditorium, a library, a student centre, and a patient and family mental health education resources and support centre.

The Complex Care Building will also be home to the Dual Diagnosis unit, being created with generous support from The Harold E. Ballard Foundation. Here, people with intellectual disabilities as well as mental illness will receive the care they need.

CAMH’s ongoing transformation will also include our new Acute Care Building, which will be home to our new 24/7 emergency department, inpatient units for more acute patients, Access CAMH, a Partial Hospital Program and a Transitional Age Youth Day Program.

CAMH’s ongoing transformation reflects society’s changing approach to mental illness and addiction.

"With community support, CAMH is creating spaces in which people can feel more comfortable and are treated with respect. For many people, CAMH becomes their home," Liza says. "I become very inspired when I see and hear what my peers are accomplishing through philanthropy. It often pushes me to go further, dig deeper and work harder to make a bigger statement in a positive way."