East Metro Youth Services

What East Metro Youth Services does

East Metro Youth Services, operating under the trade name Strides Toronto, is a Canadian non-profit registered charity (Charity Registration No. 87040 9489 RR0001) founded in 1974 and headquartered at 100 Consilium Place, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario. The organization delivers community, autism, developmental, and mental health support services to infants, children, youth (up to age 25), and families in Toronto's east end (Scarborough) region. Since 2015, Strides Toronto has held the formal designation as Toronto's Lead Agency for Infant, Children and Youth Mental Health, granted by Ontario Health / the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, making it the regional coordinator for youth mental health service delivery in Toronto.

The service portfolio is organized into four program verticals: Autism and Developmental Services, Community Services, Youth Programming, and Mental Health Services. Access to these services is delivered through a hybrid distribution model comprising physical walk-in clinics (What's Up Walk-In), virtual counselling via the provincial One Stop Talk / Parlons maintenant platform, the Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) integrated youth hub for ages 12–25, and the Help Ahead telephone referral service. The organization also operates ancillary programs such as the Black Excellence Community Library. The underlying technology stack is not disclosed in available material; there is no proprietary software platform, mobile application, or documented AI system.

Revenue is generated almost exclusively through government grants and charitable funding, principally from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care as Lead Agency, supplemented by United Way Greater Toronto. Services are provided free of charge to end clients (children, youth, and families), eliminating any direct pricing mechanism or commercial billing. The organization employs approximately 39 staff and operates a referral-led, community-based go-to-market motion rather than commercial sales.

Name

East Metro Youth Services

Legal name

Strides Toronto

Website

https://emys.on.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

East Metro Youth Services (operating as Strides Toronto) is a Toronto-based non-profit charity, founded in 1974, that delivers autism, developmental, mental health, and community support services to children, youth, and families in Toronto's east end, serving as Toronto's Lead Agency for Infant, Children and Youth Mental Health since 2015.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Mental Health Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Pediatric Rehabilitation & Developmental Therapy Centers (PT/OT/SLP) (HLAFAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Autism Early Intervention (Educational) (EDAKAKAB), Inclusive Early Intervention & Transition-to-Preschool Services (EDACAFAM), Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC), Transition & School-Readiness Support for Special Needs Children (HSAAAIAO)

Keywords

• Youth mental health services
• Autism support services
• Developmental disability services
• Community counselling services
• Child and family support

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

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Primary revenue derived from provincial government funding through the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, with additional support from United Way Greater Toronto. As the designated Lead Agency for Infant, Children and Youth Mental Health in Toronto, the organization receives core operational funding to coordinate and deliver mental health services across the region.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

East Metro Youth Services (operating as Strides Toronto) delivers free, community-based autism support, developmental services, mental health counselling, and family programs for children, youth, and families in Toronto's east end. Since 2015, the organization has served as Toronto's Lead Agency for Infant, Children and Youth Mental Health, providing system planning and centralized access to mental health, autism, and developmental services across the region. Services are funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and the United Way Greater Toronto and delivered through in-person walk-in, telephone, virtual, and partner-referral channels.

Product overview

Strides Toronto operates as a unified service organization that provides integrated community, autism, developmental, and mental health support services for children, youth, families, and infants in Toronto's east end. The organization serves as Toronto's Lead Agency for Infant, Children and Youth Mental Health since 2015. The service portfolio includes core programs such as Autism and Developmental Services, Community Services, Youth Programming, and Mental Health Services, supported by immediate-access offerings like the What's Up Walk-In Clinic and One Stop Talk virtual counselling. Additional services include Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (for youth aged 12-25), the Help Ahead referral service, and the Black Excellence Community Library.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• What's Up Walk-In Free, drop-in walk-in counselling and mental health support service for children, youth and families in Toronto's east end who need immediate access to support without prior appointment.
• One Stop Talk Free, 24/7 telephone and text-based mental health support service for children and youth across Ontario, providing immediate access to professional counselling without appointment.
• Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) Integrated youth wellness hub providing children and youth (typically aged 12–25) in Toronto's east end with mental health, substance use, primary care, and social service supports through a single access point.
• Help Ahead Service navigation and family support program helping families in Toronto's east end connect with appropriate autism, developmental, and mental health services for their children.
• Autism Services Free community-based autism support services for children, youth, and families in Toronto's east end, including assessment, intervention, and family-based programming.
• Developmental Services Free community-based developmental services for children and youth with developmental disabilities or delays in Toronto's east end, including assessments, therapy, and family support.
• Children's Mental Health Services Core free mental health counselling, therapy, and treatment services for children and youth in Toronto's east end, delivered under the organization's Lead Agency mandate from the Ontario Ministry of Health.
• Lead Agency System Planning (Toronto ICYMH) System-level planning, coordination, and centralized intake for infant, children and youth mental health services across Toronto's east end, performed under the Lead Agency designation from the Ontario Ministry of Health since 2015.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ontario Health / Ontario Ministry of HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Governmental relationship as designated Lead Agency for Infant, Children and Youth Mental Health in Toronto. Receives core operational funding and coordination responsibilities for regional mental health service delivery.
• United Way Greater TorontocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor funder and strategic partner providing financial support for community mental health and youth services programs. Listed as a key partner and funder on the organization's website.
• One Stop Talk / Parlons maintenantcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvincial virtual counselling initiative that Strides Toronto participates in, providing Ontario-wide access to free mental health support for children, youth and families. Operates Monday-Friday 12PM-8PM and Saturday 12PM-4PM.
• What's Up Walk-IncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated network of immediate mental health walk-in clinics across Ontario. Strides Toronto operates one of the WUWI locations and participates in the broader provincial network providing crisis counselling.
• Youth Wellness Hub Ontario (YWHO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvincial initiative providing integrated youth wellness services. Strides Toronto hosts a YWHO location in east Toronto offering services for youth aged 12-25 across multiple wellness domains.
• Help AheadminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne-stop-shop referral service for infants, children and youth in Toronto. Strides Toronto participates by receiving referrals and providing services, with call center (1-866-585-6486) facilitating connections.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Surrey Place Centre: Toronto-based healthcare organization serving individuals with developmental disabilities and autism across the lifespan. Comparable to Strides Toronto's autism and developmental services portfolio and shared Toronto service geography.
• Kids Help Phone: National e-mental health service for children and youth in Canada offering 24/7 counselling, texting, and crisis support. Directly comparable to Strides Toronto in serving youth mental health needs across Ontario, though with a national rather than regional footprint.
• Autism Ontario: Provincial autism advocacy and service navigation organization supporting individuals with autism and their families across Ontario. Comparable in the autism services space where Strides Toronto offers specialized autism and developmental programming.
• Frontenac Youth Services: Children's mental health centre in southeastern Ontario providing counselling, autism services, and youth justice programs. Comparable as a regional Ontario children's mental health agency delivering an integrated mix of mental health and developmental services.
• Kinark Child and Family Services: Multi-region Ontario children's mental health agency delivering counselling, autism services, and youth justice programs. Comparable to Strides Toronto as a similarly structured Lead Agency delivering integrated child and youth mental health services in Ontario.

Broad incumbents

• The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids): Major Toronto pediatric hospital providing specialized mental health, developmental, and autism services. Comparable as a Toronto provider serving overlapping child and youth mental health populations, though operating from a hospital rather than community-based model.
• Children's Mental Health Ontario (CMHO): Provincial association representing Ontario's children's mental health centres including Lead Agencies. Comparable as the broader umbrella ecosystem in which Strides Toronto operates as a Lead Agency member.
• Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) - Toronto: Large established mental health provider serving the Toronto region across all age groups. Comparable as a broad community-based mental health services incumbent that overlaps with Strides Toronto's mental health and community services programming.

Regional players

• Wood's Homes: Western Canada-based children's mental health provider offering community mental health, residential, and youth programming. Comparable service model to Strides Toronto but operating primarily outside Ontario in a different geographic catchment.

Emerging players

• MindBeacon (by Workplace Options): Digital mental health platform providing iCBT and virtual counselling across Canada. Comparable as an emerging player in the Ontario youth mental health space that competes for low-acuity referrals against community-based providers like Strides Toronto.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/east-metro-youth-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 East Metro Youth Services