About Us:

Spectra Community Support Services is a non-profit, multicultural organization providing free, caring and confidential distress lines and support services in several languages for the diverse population of the Region of Peel and surrounding area.

Founded in 1973 and run by dedicated staff and trained volunteers, this centre provides 24 hour emotional support and distress line service in English every day of the year.

Spectra Community Support Services' volunteers must complete 50 hours of in-class and on-line training in order to take calls on the distress lines.  Our training program focuses on listening skills, values clarification, crisis/suicide prevention/intervention, mental health, understanding sexuality, volunteer development and more.

Spectra Community Support Services also provides on-going training sessions for current volunteers to keep their skills updated. The primary purpose  is to ensure that volunteers feel comfortable in offering non-judgmental emotional support to anyone calling our different programs.  We believe that our volunteers make the difference!  As a gesture of our appreciation, they are recognized through numerous social occasions.

In order to respond to the growing needs of the diverse community in the Region of Peel, Spectra Community Support Services has expanded to include distress line and crisis intervention support in various other languages in addition to English, as well as for people with disabilities and the LGBT community.  The centre launched distress lines in Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu in 2005, Spanish in 2007, Portuguese in 2009.  Mandarin and Cantonese distress lines are the latest additions. These specific distress lines are accessible Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. 

It is forecasted that by 2031, adults 55 years of age and older will make up almost 30 per cent (443,000) of Peel's projected population of 1.5 million people. This represents nearly triple the 2001 older adult population in Peel. Our contribution to assisting this aging population 55+ is our TeleCheck program, initiated in November 2008.  This program consists of regular safety check-in and reassurance phone calls by trained volunteers and staff. The main objective is to assist older adults in living at home with dignity, respect, and independence.  The TeleCheck program is provided in English, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Spanish and Portuguese.

A solid foundation laid from inception has helped Spectra Community Support Services deliver outstanding community programs and services.  We look forward to continuing to serve the region of Peel.  We are also extremely grateful for the ongoing support  that we have received from The United Way of Peel Region, The Region of Peel , The Ontario Trillium Foundation and LHIN Central West.  For additional information, please e-mail us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call us at (905) 459-8439 - Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.