What Stella's Place does

Stella's Place is a Toronto-based, registered Canadian charity founded in 2010 that provides free mental health services to young adults aged 16 to 29. The organization operates a hybrid service model combining in-person drop-in counselling at its 54 Wolseley Street headquarters with virtual delivery via Zoom-based counselling and the BeanBagChat online chat application (available Monday through Thursday, 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM). Its core offering integrates peer support from staff and volunteers with lived experience of mental health challenges, clinical counselling, wellness programs, and art therapy, and it uniquely embeds participants in the co-design, delivery, and evaluation of services.

As a not-for-profit, Stella's Place does not charge participants; funding is sourced from individual and corporate donations, government grants (including prior Bell Let's Talk grants), and fundraising events such as the annual Yorkville Run (which raised over $26,000 in 2025 with a $30,000+ goal in 2026). The organization employs 11-50 staff, is governed by a Board of Directors led by an Executive Director, and is registered with Charitable Registration Number 817186935RR0001. Beyond direct service, Stella's Place is extending its reach through the upcoming ConNEXTion Conference (November 2026), Learning Packages for Organizations, and Communities of Practice for peer support workers, with compliance to PHIPA, AODA, and AFP ethical standards.

The technology stack is intentionally lightweight: the proprietary BeanBagChat chat application for peer support, Zoom for virtual drop-in counselling, Google Analytics for web measurement, and Donor Perfect for donation processing. There is no disclosed AI/ML capability, app store presence, or commercial software product; the digital footprint exists to lower access friction and support donor operations rather than to drive monetization.

Name

Stella's Place

Legal name

Stella's Place

Website

https://stellasplace.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stella's Place is a Toronto-based registered Canadian charity providing free mental health services to young adults aged 16 to 29. Its hub model combines peer support with lived experience, clinical counselling, wellness, and art therapy delivered in-person and virtually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: As a not-for-profit charitable organization, Stella's Place relies on donations from individuals, corporations, and community supporters. The organization hosts fundraising events including the annual Yorkville Run (raised over $26,000 in 2025 with a goal of $30,000+ for 2026).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Stella's Place provides free mental health services to young adults aged 16 to 29 in Toronto, integrating peer support, clinical drop-in counselling, wellness programs, and art therapy delivered both virtually and in-person. Service access is barrier-free through same-day drop-in appointments and the BeanBagChat online chat application. All programs are offered at no cost and are funded through donations, grants, and community fundraising.

Product overview

Stella's Place is a not-for-profit mental health organization providing free services for young adults aged 16 to 29 in Toronto. The organization operates a hub model combining peer support, clinical services, wellness programs, and art therapy, available both virtually and in-person. Core offerings include Peer Support with lived experience coaches, In-Person and Virtual Drop-in Counselling via Zoom, and the BeanBagChat online chat application. Educational initiatives include the annual ConNEXTion Conference and Learning Packages for Organizations. The organization also hosts community events like the Yorkville Run fundraiser and maintains a Family Advisory Council. All services are free of charge with many same-day drop-in options available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Peer Support Guidance and coaching from staff and volunteers who share lived experiences with mental health challenges, providing an evidence-based approach to transforming mental health services for young adults aged 16 to 29 in Toronto.
• In-Person Drop-in Counselling Same-day counselling appointments provided at the Stella's Place facility at 54 Wolseley Street, Toronto, with registration beginning at 11:00 AM, accessible to young adults aged 16 to 29 at no cost.
• Virtual Drop-in Counselling Online counselling sessions conducted via Zoom providing young adults with same-day access to individual clinician support on designated days, available at no cost.
• BeanBagChat Online chat-based application allowing young adults to access peer support by chatting in real time about whatever is on their mind, open Monday to Thursday from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
• ConNEXTion Conference Annual educational conference bringing together practical learning, innovative ideas, and meaningful connection to reimagine young adult mental health; first-ever virtual edition scheduled for November 19, 2026.
• Yorkville Run Annual community fundraiser bringing together runners, walkers, and supporters for a morning of movement in support of young adult mental health, typically held in September.
• Learning Packages for Organizations Educational resources and packages available for external organizations seeking to implement similar mental health programs or peer support training.
• Communities of Practice Professional development spaces for peer support workers and staff to engage in mutually supportive learning and development.
• Family Advisory Council Supporting caregivers and families of young adults experiencing mental health challenges with empathy, education, and empowerment resources.

Quantifiable outcome

• Free, timely, barrier-free mental health support when young adults need it most

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kids Help Phone: Canada's flagship youth e-mental health service offering free 24/7 phone, text, and chat support to young people, including the same 16–29 demographic as Stella's Place, and funded by donors and corporate partners including Bell Let's Talk.
• Togetherall: Digital peer-to-peer mental health support platform offering anonymous, moderated online community support 24/7; comparable to Stella's Place's BeanBagChat in modality and peer-support design, with broader geographic scope.
• Strongest Families Institute: Ontario-based provider of remote, evidence-based mental health services for children, youth, and families, delivering virtual counselling and parent support — closely aligned with Stella's Place's hybrid in-person/virtual model for Ontario youth.
• Youth Mental Health Canada: Canadian charitable organization advocating for and supporting youth mental health, addressing similar age cohorts (adolescents through young adults) with peer support and family education resources overlapping with Stella's Place's Family Advisory Council.
• MindYourMind: Ontario youth mental health nonprofit that co-designs programs with young people to address mental health challenges, overlapping with Stella's Place on co-design methodology, target age range, and Ontario geographic base.
• Jack.org: Toronto-based Canadian nonprofit focused on youth mental health leadership and peer-driven programming for young adults, comparable to Stella's Place in mission, demographic, and lived-experience approach.

Emerging players

• 7 Cups: Online emotional support service connecting users with trained listeners and therapists via chat, comparable to BeanBagChat's chat-based peer support, but operating globally and on a freemium model.

Broad incumbents

• Homewood Health: National Canadian provider of mental health, addictions, and wellness services including youth and family programs — comparable to Stella's Place on the mental health service offering dimension but serving a much broader portfolio of clients and contracts.
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH): Canada's largest mental health and addiction hospital and research center based in Toronto, with a young-adult service portfolio; overlaps with Stella's Place on the clinical counselling and youth mental health dimensions but operates at vastly greater scale.
• Wellness Together Canada: Government-funded federally accessible mental health portal providing free counselling, peer support, and self-guided resources for Canadians including youth — comparable to Stella's Place on free, virtual-first delivery for the 16–29 demographic but at national scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/stellasplaceca
• Facebookfacebook.com/StellasPlaceCanada
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/27449742
• Instagraminstagram.com/stellasplace.ca

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stella's Place