Unbelievably rude receptionist. I called to simply ask a question. I explained my situation, and she cut me off, telling me they do not offer the services I was enquiring about. I can understand that they may receive a high volume of calls, however I would image a service that caters to those that suffer from mental illness would have, if not a warmer approach, a polite & professional one.

Unfortunately, I was not able to observe much professionalism in this organization and I thought I observed a lot of closure, rejection and stigmatization. For an organization defending mental health rights, that’s nothing to be proud of. In addition, I was referred to this organization for problems encountered in the system around March 2023. To this day, I have still not been able to be a member and I have not received any support in times of difficulty. A staff member also bluntly told me that he chose who could be an active member of the organization and at the assembly they were happy that I was there to achieve decorum. In short, the management of this organization seems to be full of unprofessional behavior based on judgments. In addition, during the general meeting, I observed that the population making up the board was pretty much all old and white, not very diverse as a team and not very open to becoming so it seems. An organization that receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from the government to support mental health advocacy should not have the right to advocate for the rights of just those they care about. Justice, equity, non-stigmatization and non-judgment should be the basis of their practice. But I was absolutely not able to observe this.

Organization for the rights of people living with mental illness