Jean Tweed was a woman who saw the need for a safe and supportive environment for women to address their substance use issues. She was a pioneer in advancing the cause of women-specific programming. In 1983, the Jean Tweed Centre was established in her honour.

Jean Tweed Centre has evolved and grown to become a leading community-based substance abuse, mental health and problem gambling agency for women in Ontario, offering a wide range of services including:

• residential and day programming
• out-patient programming including family and trauma counselling
• individual counselling and continuing care
• outreach services for women who are pregnant and parenting women, have concurrent mental health and substance use challenges or involved in the criminal justice system.
• transition and supportive housing

In keeping with its focus on women, parenting and children, the Jean Tweed Centre also offers a fully licensed therapeutic child development centre on site.

The Toronto Central LHIN is the Jean Tweed Centre’s primary funder but it also receives project funding and donations from various other sources.

In its 2017/2018 annual report, the Jean Tweed Centre reports having served an impressive 2,218 people across programs (including family members and children). Its Child Development Centre welcomed 83 children, and 184 women accessed housing (both transitional and supportive).

That same annual report chronicles the story of one client who talks about arriving at the Centre and immediately finding counsellors filled with empathy and dedication. Unlike previous experiences, she felt no judgment, insincere sympathy or infantalization.  She says that “I really believe that when the time comes, I will be leaving JTC armed in self- love and with a set of tools that will help me navigate in the world without ever reaching for substances that ruined my life once before.”

In 2018 the Centre’s new Executive Director, Michelle Coombs, contacted us for some corporate advice.  Michelle has been involved with a number of Iler Campbell clients over the last 15 years and we were delighted to see her turn up at the Jean Tweed Centre.  Like so many of our clients, the Centre’s legal budgets are slim but Michelle recognizes the value of getting strategic advice so that issues don’t become problems.  We are pleased she thought of us to help.

Filed in: Charities, Client Profiles