What we do
Pleo is a non-profit that supports parents and caregivers of children, youth and young adults facing mental health and addiction challenges. Rooted in lived experience, the organization’s team of family peer supporters provides bilingual help through a helpline, one to one peer support and support groups across Eastern Ontario. Pleo also runs an impactful suicide prevention program called Youth Nominated Support Team (YNST). The programs help families navigate complex systems, reduce feelings of isolation and build resilience.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025, Pleo continues to serve as a bridge between families and the mental health system, working to ensure parents do not feel alone while supporting their child’s journey.
How you can help
There are many ways to support families with Pleo. Become a monthly donor to sustain and grow the helpline and support groups, or consider sponsoring the annual Art of Support Gala. Invite Pleo to your workplace for a lunch and learn — many employees may be quietly navigating a child’s mental health challenges and need to know they are not alone. Stay connected by signing up for the newsletter at pleo.on.ca or by following on social media. You can also host or join a community event to raise awareness and reduce stigma.
Give
Donations to Pleo directly fund family peer support programs, ensuring parents and caregivers receive timely, compassionate and culturally responsive support. Contributions help expand helpline capacity, sustain more than 30 monthly support groups and embed peer support in community hubs. Support also enables innovation, including the Youth-Nominated Support also enables innovation, including the Youth Nominated Support Team, and will support increasing ways to serve families, such as increased phone line hours and/or a text support option.
Every gift provides families with hope, tools and connection when they need it most, and helps ensure thousands of families across Eastern Ontario do not face their child’s mental health or addiction challenges alone.
Volunteer
Pleo welcomes volunteers who want to support families through advocacy and community connection. The organization is especially seeking parents and caregivers with lived experience supporting their own children’s mental health or substance use challenges. Volunteers may serve on the Parent Advisory Committee, provide input into program development or contribute to advocacy efforts. By sharing their perspectives, volunteers help shape responsive services and ensure families are supported with compassion and dignity.
This article first appeared in the 2025 Giving Guide produced by the Ottawa Business Journal. That publication is available in its digital edition below.
To learn more about this charity, please visit the latest issue of the Giving Guide:
