Privacy Policy
Adherent to PIPEDA & Ontario Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA)
Table of Contents
Privacy Questions?
Contact our designated Privacy Officer for any access, correction, or data inquiries.
1. Our Commitment to Privacy
Kind Minds Family Wellness (“KMFW”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is an incorporated non-profit health, counseling, and wellness organization serving African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) communities throughout Waterloo Region and Ontario. We place the highest priority on protecting the confidentiality, dignity, and personal health information of all individuals who access our counseling, mentorship, psycho-educational programs, events, and online services.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, store, safeguard, use, and disclose personal and health information across our website (kindmindsfamilywellness.org), registration portals, clinical intake systems, and community programs in compliance with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and Ontario's Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA).
2. Information We Collect
We only collect information that is strictly necessary to provide culturally responsive mental health care, deliver community initiatives, process donations, and administer our organization:
- Contact Details: Name, phone number, residential address, email address, and emergency contact details.
- Program & Intake Information: Age or date of birth, cultural background, pronouns, language preferences, and referral sources.
- Volunteer & Employment Applications: Resumes, cover letters, references, credentials, and police check confirmation for placement candidates.
- Donation Records: Donation amounts, campaign attribution, and transaction identifiers (credit card details are processed directly by certified third-party processors like Stripe and are never stored on our servers).
- Digital Browsing Data: Anonymized IP addresses, browser types, and standard cookies for site accessibility and analytics.
3. Clinical & Counseling Confidentiality
Your counseling notes and personal therapeutic disclosures will never be shared without your explicit, written consent. By Ontario law, the only narrow exceptions to confidentiality are:
- Where there is an imminent risk of severe physical harm or suicide.
- Where there is suspicion or disclosure of ongoing child abuse or neglect (under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act).
- Where disclosure of sexual abuse by a registered health professional is reported.
- Where subpoenaed or required by a court order of competent jurisdiction.
4. How We Use Your Information
Information gathered is utilized exclusively to:
- Deliver, coordinate, and evaluate culturally grounded counseling, psychotherapy, and peer circles.
- Match youth, mentors, and adult participants in programs such as the Black Youth Impact Program (BYIP).
- Issue charitable donation tax receipts and acknowledge sponsorships in accordance with CRA guidelines.
- Communicate workshop updates, event notifications, and quarterly organizational publications.
- Generate anonymized, aggregate demographic statistics for institutional funders and community research reports.
5. Consent & Your Choices
We obtain informed consent prior to collecting personal details. You have the right to withdraw or withhold consent for optional communications, photography, or program surveys at any time by notifying our staff or clicking unsubscribe links.
7. Safeguards & Data Security
KMFW implements multi-layer technical and administrative safeguards, including TLS/SSL encryption for digital transmissions, role-based access controls, multi-factor authentication (MFA) for administrative systems, and secure locked physical storage for physical files.
8. Data Retention & Secure Disposal
Personal records are retained only as long as required to fulfill the purposes for which they were collected or as mandated by Ontario professional colleges (typically 10 years for adult clinical files from the last date of service, or 10 years past the age of 18 for children). Once retention periods expire, records are permanently shredded or cryptographically deleted.
9. Your Privacy Rights
Under Canadian privacy legislation, you have the right to request access to your personal information held by KMFW, request corrections to inaccurate records, or submit inquiries regarding our handling of your data.
11. Contact Our Privacy Officer
If you have questions, feedback, or concerns regarding this policy, or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please reach out directly:
Privacy Officer • Kind Minds Family Wellness
2 King Street West, Suite 100, Kitchener, ON N2G 1A3
Email: info@kindmindsfamilywellness.org
Phone: +1 (226) 336-1988