Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region

What Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region does

The Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region (DCOR) is a registered Canadian charitable organization (Charity #10807-9815-RR0001) founded in 1969 and headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. It operates 24/7 crisis support services - including the Distress Line (613-238-3311), the Crisis Line (613-722-6914), the Wellness Check program, and the national 9-8-8 suicide crisis helpline - delivered by approximately 243 trained volunteers and supported by roughly 50 paid staff. In fiscal 2024-25 the organization answered 60,000+ calls, a volume described as higher than prior years.

Its underlying technology is a telephone-based crisis-line infrastructure with integrated volunteer management, confidential caller handling, and a community resource database; no mobile app, API, or AI components are disclosed. The product portfolio layers the core free crisis services with fee-bearing enterprise training programs (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training - ASIST, safeTALK, and custom workshops) delivered to colleges, universities, social service agencies, government departments, and businesses. A volunteer pipeline comprises Crisis Line Responder Training, a 55+ program, a Remote Volunteer track, and a Student Practicum.

DCOR is a donation- and grant-funded non-profit. End-user services are free-of-charge; revenue derives from individual and business donations, United Way Centraide East Ontario allocations, smaller grants from partners such as OC Transpo and BingoLand Gaming Centre, online donations routed through CanadaHelps, and training workshop fees. The organization has no parent company, no subsidiaries, no venture or private equity backing, and is governed by an independent Board of Directors. Geographic scope is the Ottawa region for direct service delivery, with national reach via the 9-8-8 partnership.

Name

Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region

Legal name

Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region

Website

https://dcottawa.on.ca

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region is a registered charitable non-profit that delivers 24/7 crisis-line, suicide-prevention, and wellness-check services to the Ottawa public via ~243 trained volunteers, supplemented by ASIST/safeTALK training workshops and the national 9-8-8 helpline.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Crisis Support Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGAEAH), Behavioral Health Crisis Services Management (988/Hotlines/Mobile Crisis Coordination) (HLAEAHAK)

Keywords

• Crisis intervention services
• Suicide prevention support
• Mental health helpline
• Distress counseling services
• Volunteer crisis responders

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual and Business Donations: Charitable organization relying on donations from individuals and businesses. All donations are invested directly into operations to maintain 24/7 crisis line services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region operates 24/7 telephone crisis support lines, including a 24/7 Distress Line (613-238-3311), a 24/7 Crisis Line (613-722-6914), and integration with the national 9-8-8 suicide crisis helpline. Services are free-of-charge and include emotional support, suicide prevention, crisis intervention, psychological stabilization, information, referral, and education for individuals in the Ottawa region. The organization also delivers fee-based professional training workshops (ASIST, safeTALK, and custom workshops) to colleges, universities, social service agencies, businesses, and government departments.

Product overview

The Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region operates as a mental health crisis support organization offering a unified suite of 24/7 crisis intervention services. The core offering consists of round-the-clock Distress and Crisis Lines staffed by trained volunteer responders. Supporting these core services are professional training programs including ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), safeTALK workshops, and in-house Distress Centre Workshops for organizations. The organization also runs a volunteer pipeline comprising Crisis Line Responder Training, a specialized 55+ Volunteer Program, and a Student Practicum for those entering the mental health field. The Wellness Check service rounds out the direct client services. All services operate within a mental health continuum, providing suicide prevention, crisis intervention, emotional support, information, referral, and education services free-of-charge to the Ottawa region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 24/7 Distress Line A 24/7 confidential telephone helpline providing immediate emotional support, crisis intervention, and referral services to individuals in distress in the Ottawa region.
• 24/7 Crisis Line A 24/7 crisis line providing immediate support for individuals experiencing mental health emergencies or suicidal crises, available at 613-722-6914.
• Wellness Check A wellness check service that ensures the safety and well-being of community members through proactive outreach, connecting individuals with appropriate resources and support.
• Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) A two-day intensive workshop teaching suicide first aid intervention skills, recognized worldwide as one of the most widely used suicide intervention training programs, delivered to organizations and individuals.
• safeTALK A half-day workshop that prepares participants to identify persons with thoughts of suicide and connect them to suicide first-aid resources and intervention support.
• Distress Centre Workshops Professional development workshops for staff interacting with the public, covering communication skills, crisis response, and client-centered service delivery for colleges, universities, social service agencies, businesses, and government departments.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CanadaHelpscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline donation platform partner enabling individuals to make donations, including securities/stocks donations and memorial/celebration gifts.
• 988 (National Suicide Crisis Helpline)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational suicide crisis line partnership; callers can access DCOR services through 9-8-8 number for suicide crisis support within Canada.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Talk Suicide Canada (formerly Crisis Services Canada): National suicide prevention and crisis support organization that coordinates Canada's 9-8-8 service. DCOR is a partner/responder on the same 9-8-8 backbone, making it the closest operational and mission peer.
• Kids Help Phone: Canada-wide 24/7 e-mental-health service for youth offering phone, text, and live-chat crisis support. Closely comparable volunteer-/counsellor-staffed crisis line operating in the same Canadian non-profit mental health space.
• Crisis Text Line: Text-based 24/7 crisis support service staffed by trained volunteers. Same volunteer-driven crisis-intervention model as DCOR but executed via text — a primary channel-substitution peer for younger callers.
• Samaritans (UK & Ireland): Volunteer-staffed 24/7 emotional support helpline in the UK. Closest international analog to DCOR's volunteer-driven, free, confidential crisis-line model and a benchmark for organizational scale.

Regional players

• ConnexOntario: Ontario-wide helpline and online directory for mental health, addictions, and problem gambling services. Comparable regional non-profit helpline operating in the same Ontario/Canadian crisis-services ecosystem.
• Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Ottawa: Regional CMHA branch delivering community mental health programs, crisis navigation, and education in Ottawa. Same regional Ottawa mental health ecosystem and likely referral partner to DCOR.

Emerging players

• Wellness Together Canada: Government-funded portal providing free mental health and substance use support including text-based crisis support. Emerging federally-backed digital channel that competes for the same caller population as DCOR.
• Foundry (BC Children's Hospital / Providence Health): BC-wide integrated youth services network offering mental health, substance use, and crisis support. Comparable Canadian non-profit/charity operating model targeting overlapping youth and family populations.

Broad incumbents

• Lifeline Australia: Australia's national 24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention service. Comparable national crisis-line operating model with volunteer/paid responder mix and a training portfolio (e.g., ASIST delivery in Australia).
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US): US national 24/7 phone and text crisis line network. Directly comparable operating model and federal-backbone integration that mirrors Canada's 9-8-8 program in which DCOR participates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DistressCentreO
• Facebookfacebook.com/DistressCentreOR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/distress-centre-of-ottawa-&-region
• Instagraminstagram.com/distresscentreottawa

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Distress Centre of Ottawa & Region