Nationally, Hamilton has the third largest proportion of non-Canadian born community members (i.e., over 20% of the population). Within this constellation of Hamilton citizens, 13.6% of the population is made up of visible minorities. There is also a substantial Indigenous community, with the Six Nations Reserve only 30 minutes outside of the city centre. There is also a large French community, with francophone schools and a francophone community centre.

All members of the community are served by clinical programs in Hamilton. Additionally, there are some programs specifically designed to meet the needs of particular population groups. Residents are able to participate in all of these programs. These programs include:

• REFUGE: Newcomer Clinic – monthly non-profit clinic run by a psychiatrist for refugees and immigrants new to Hamilton
• Two Family Health Teams (FHTs) have now expanded into two high schools with high immigrant and refugee populations. These FHTs provide direct psychiatry service at local high schools.

International Global Mental Health ppportunities primarily include working in collaboration with the Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) to build educational capacity within the Department of Psychiatry. Specific efforts include the development and delivery of psychiatry curricula for this newly developed postgraduate program in Uganda. Faculty-resident pairs travel to Uganda several times throughout the year to provide direct education to the Ugandan postgraduate learners and their interdisciplinary teams, clinical supervision and educational capacity building, at at faculty level. Committee work in Hamilton is conducted on a routine basis to ensure partnership growth and development in an ethical and evidence informed manner.

Faculty from McMaster University have also been involved in mental health education efforts in Guyana.