Our Story
In 1980, a group of local citizens concerned with the well being of area children began meeting to discuss the unmet needs of our community. From those early discussions, the idea of establishing a local Children’s Mental Health agency was born.
By planting a seed of concern for the area’s children over twenty-five years ago, a group of local visionaries took an ambitious idea and created an agency that today provides services and supports to thousands of infants, preschoolers, children, youth and adults living in the counties of Haldimand and Norfolk.
From its very early days, the leadership of H-N REACH realized that meeting the needs of our children and families was too tall a job for any one organization and that a collective and coordinated effort was required. Working together was clearly the key to providing meaningful services in our communities and this basic value continues to this day.
Today, Haldimand-Norfolk REACH is a multi-service agency, providing children’s mental health services, developmental services, autism and behaviour services, youth and justice services, adult counselling, a residential program for transitional-aged youth and several early learning and care services including licensed childcare, EarlyON Child and Family Centre(s) and the Community Action Program for Children. H-N REACH serves as the Lead Agency for; the Hamilton/Niagara Regional Student Nutrition Program; Child and Youth Mental Health services under the Moving on Mental Health initiative; and Coordinated Service Planning under Ontario Special Needs Strategy.. Through our Contact Division, the agency serves as the single point of access for children’s mental health and developmental services as well as coordinating the local Service Resolution Mechanism and Complex Special Needs process.
H-N REACH is recognized as a local leader in community education, advocacy, inter-sector collaboration and Community Service Planning.
H-N REACH is a not-for-profit, non-share corporation and a registered charity under the Income Tax Act (Charitable Business No. 10691 4757 RR0001).