Who We Are

Approved in November 2020 as one of Toronto’s eight OHTs, the Downtown East Toronto Ontario Health Team is a group of health and social service partners with deep roots in the community, committed to building an integrated system of care. 

With a strong focus on improving access to care, advancing health equity, and addressing the diverse needs of the Downtown East Toronto community, DET OHT is dedicated to enhancing health outcomes for priority populations experiencing some of the greatest health inequities and barriers to accessing coordinated care. This includes individuals living with mental health and substance use challenges, people experiencing homelessness or housing instability and communities disproportionately impacted by systemic inequities which include Black, Indigenous and refugee populations. These groups often face complex and intersecting health and social needs, higher reliance on acute and crisis services while experiencing limited access to culturally appropriate and continuous care. While the OHT also supports a growing aging population with chronic and complex conditions, the primary focus of integrated system planning is on addressing inequities and improving access, coordination, upstream medicine and culturally responsive care for these priority populations.  

By fostering strong partnerships across healthcare, mental health, community support, and social services, DET OHT works to streamline services, ensuring individuals receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place.

To provide our community with seamless access to inclusive, high quality, and responsive care through one connected system of diverse providers and community members who enthusiastically embody holistic approaches to improving population and individual health and well-being. 

We are committed to:

• Client and Family Centered Care: Patients, families, caregivers and the communities we serve are at the forefront of our decisions. Our Patient Client Caregiver Declaration of Values underlines this commitment and serves as the foundation for the services we provide. 

• Health Equity: Health Equity and a population health management approach are embedded in all aspects of our work in order to prioritize support to individuals and communities who are most in need of our services.

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: We recognize and acknowledge inequity and are intentional to ensure that our policies, objectives and initiatives are built on the principles and lens of diversity, equity and inclusion.

• Transparent Collaboration: Transparent and meaningful collaboration with all OHT members are vital components to healthy partnerships. We recognize that each of our members brings value, wisdom, knowledge and experience to our OHT work which allows us to work respectfully together and appreciate each member’s contribution towards our end goals.

• Quality Improvement: Building on our successes and challenges, we are open to continuous learning and embody evidence-informed and continuing learning principles to guide our decisions and improve the work we do together.

• Responsive Leadership: Iterative and generative leadership leads to responsive leadership. It helps us to be active on the issues that impact the communities we serve and holds us accountable for those actions.

The work of the DET OHT is guided by our Strategic Plan, which outlines our commitments to the community and the priorities that inform every decision we make.

Read more about our 2023-2026 Plan here