Step up for mental health
Together, let’s put our best foot forward and build a healthier, more resilient community.
Put your best foot forward for mental health
Our biggest step towards advancing mental health care in Oakville.
Update on our BFF initiative
We’re excited to share that Christie’s vision has become a reality! Thanks to our community’s incredible support, we’ve reached our goal for the Best Foot Forward initiative. Together, 115 donors contribute more than $3 million for mental health care at OTMH. Special thanks to June and Ian for their generous matching gift of $750,000, amplifying our impact.
While we celebrate this success, the need for mental health support persists. The demand for accessible and high-quality mental health services at OTMH remains as critical as ever. Your ongoing support is vital in ensuring that we can continue to provide comprehensive care to those in need.
To our bffs, thank you once again for stepping up for mental health care in our community. Together, we are building a brighter, healthier future for all.
The statistics are staggering
Every year, 1 in 5 Canadians will personally experience a mental health challenge. Yet, our hospital’s services are stretched thin, leaving many not only waiting for help but not getting enough.
Now more than ever, mental health care is a pressing community issue that needs your support.
Every journey begins with a single step
For those facing a mental health challenge in our community, the first step often leads them to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH).
Here, mental health support is more than just treatment; it’s about nurturing hope and guiding our patients toward a future filled with possibilities. Our dedicated team provides compassionate, high-quality care, empowering each individual to put their best foot forward on the path to recovery.
This journey of healing, marked by every brave step forward, is at the heart of what we do.
Become an OHF bff
The Best Foot Forward (bff) initiative is an urgent call to action to support mental health programs and services at OTMH.
With your help, we can provide faster, more equitable access to mental health care for everyone in our community. It’s about offering hope and healing, closer to home, for each person who needs it.
Aiming high for mental health
Your donations are the key to a brighter future in mental health care. They will empower our hospital to bolster our team with dedicated professionals, innovate our programs, and expand our clinical capabilities.
This initiative ensures that mental health support is not just a privilege but a right for all, regardless of anyone’s background or circumstances.
The time is now
Your support is the key to creating lasting change in our community’s mental health landscape.
So let’s be the change.
Let’s show that we care, that we’re here for each other.
Let’s make a difference in someone’s life and put our best foot forward, so others can too.
Donate Now
Igniting hope, transforming lives
Kayleigh RobertsonPeer Mentor at OTMH, former patient, and official OHF bffToday, I’ve come full circle, now a provider of hope for others just as I once relied on the hope extended to me. I have grown up and recovered, with a very strong foundation of hope within my heart. I am a survivor.
Ready to put your best foot forward for mental health?
Being there for our patients, giving them their best chance to return to a normal life, starts with your support today!
Become a bff and make a lasting impact on mental health care in your community.
The FOCUS Clinic at OTMH is changing the way cancer patients receive urgent care. Opened in March 2025, the clinic offers same-day support for treatment-related symptoms, helping patients avoid Emergency visits and get care from a team that understands their needs.
Thanks to donor support, this dedicated space delivers faster, safer, more compassionate care — right when needed most.
OTMH is now offering a new cancer treatment called T-cell engaging antibodies, an advanced form of immunotherapy that helps the body target and destroy cancer cells. This treatment offers new hope for patients with myeloma, lymphoma, and lung cancer, especially when other options haven’t worked.
Thanks to donor support through The Big C campaign, the equipment and systems that support this complex care, including lab and pharmacy tools, are in place at OTMH.
Getting a kidney transplant usually involves weeks of tests, referrals, and travel. OTMH’s One-Day Workup finishes everything in one visit.
Inspired by Director of Nephrology Gail Burns’s experience guiding her son Brandon through a transplant from his brother Hunter, OTMH became the first hospital to offer this same-day pathway. Donor-funded lab and diagnostic tools power every step, turning one family’s challenge into a province-wide breakthrough. Discover how your support makes it possible.
Ontario Health honoured Halton Healthcare with a Quality & Innovation Award for the Restore-Me Clinic at OTMH.
Restore-Me is Ontario’s first hospital-based program offering physician-funded 3-D nipple-areola tattooing, a vital finishing step in breast reconstruction. Donor support lets OTMH deliver this service on-site, removing private fees and long travel. Survivors gain confidence, dignity, and closure, and referrals keep rising. Restore-Me is making post-cancer care more accessible and deeply compassionate.
Young adults 18-25 face big mental health and life-transition challenges, worsened by COVID. With donor support, OTMH created the TAY Program, bridging the gap between youth and adult services.
Outreach counsellors meet participants on campus, in coffee shops, and in the community; they provide one-on-one guidance, goal-setting, and life-skills training such as résumé writing. Already, more than 30 youth have regained confidence and re-engaged in school, work, and volunteering.
When COVID-19 left more than half of OTMH’s Emergency Department nursing positions vacant, donors stepped up. Their support launched the Emergency Department Nurse Clinical Mentor Program, pairing seasoned nurses with new recruits for on-the-job coaching. Vacancy rates have plunged from 50% to under 5%, nurse retention has soared to 85%, and patients benefit from safer, faster care. Investing in people is building a stronger, more resilient hospital.