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About the Centre for Resilience and Social Development

Our mission

Our mission is to provide culturally responsive, trauma-informed services that empower children, youth, and families to heal from adversity and reach their full potential.

Our vision

In a world where every child, youth, and family has access to the support they need, CRSD envisions a future where communities are transformed through understanding, compassion, and resilience

The Centre for Resilience and Social Development (CRSD) is a Black- and racialized-led community organization supporting children, youth and families in Ottawa. We work alongside communities, schools, service providers and systems to strengthen wellbeing, relationships and access to opportunity, with particular attention to the experiences of Black, racialized, immigrant and refugee young people and their families.

Our story

CRSD grew from community-based efforts to respond more effectively to the needs of children, youth and families who were not always well served by traditional systems. Over time, that work has developed into a multidisciplinary organization bringing together mental health support, youth and family services, community development, research, training and systems collaboration.

A Legacy of Growth

2004

Foundation

→

Expansion

Today

Multidisciplinary Team

Our model of care

CRSD's work is grounded in a systems approach to wellbeing and healing. We recognize that young people's experiences are shaped by family, school, peers, neighbourhoods and the broader health, education, social-service and justice systems around them. Our approach combines culturally responsive and trauma-informed practice with strengths-based, community-grounded care and cross-sector collaboration.

CRSD is the Canadian lead for the Trauma Systems Therapy (TST-R) model, in collaboration with Boston Children’s Hospital, where the model was first developed. The TST-R model was modified for the Canadian context to address the needs of Black, racialized, immigrant and refugee populations. Through this work, CRSD has developed a distinctive Canadian application of TST‑R that reflects our own model of care and is unique to the communities we serve.

Young Person • Family • School • Community • Health & Social Services • Justice

Who we work with

We work alongside children and youth, parents and caregivers, schools and educators, community and health providers, youth justice partners, and organizations working to strengthen the systems that support young people and families.

Our team and partners

CRSD brings together clinicians, youth and community workers, system navigators, researchers and other professionals with experience working alongside children, youth and families. Our multidisciplinary approach allows us to connect direct support with community knowledge, research and systems-level collaboration.

Our commitment

CRSD is committed to equity, anti-racism, cultural responsiveness and meaningful community participation. We centre the knowledge and experiences of Black, racialized, immigrant and refugee communities while recognizing that each community and each young person's experience is distinct.

Our Team

CRSD brings together a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, youth and community workers, system navigators, researchers and other professionals with experience working alongside children, youth and families.