Mental health healing and wellness is part of a holistic approach to wellness. Caring for our mental well being, and healing from difficult experiences is as critical as eating healthy to prevent high blood pressure.

Holistic Healing

What is Holistic Healing?

Holistic healing takes into account the interaction between the mind-body-spirit, which is often seen as one. There is a belief that a dysfunction in one area, for example – a physical injury, can affect the whole person and other areas such as the mind and spirit.

Many Western forms of healing do not consider the significance of using culture or spiritual practice to heal which may be important to you and your healing. It is common for Black people to use holistic healing in their daily life.

If you would like to engage in more holistic healing practice. There are some tips for you! Be mindful that not all of these suggestions will be appropriate for you, as we are all unique.

Wellness, of our minds, our bodies and our spirits is a process of creating balance. This balance gives us peace. A sense of calmness. An easiness that empowers and strengthens our capacity to manage through the stresses in our life.

Starting off with your body: Over the counter medication is not the only way to heal your body and take care of your physical health. Engaging in other activities can also be great to heal your body such as traditional healing. Engaging in natural medicines rooted in Indigenous & African centered cultures.

Suggested naturopathic medicines & approaches:

1. Naturopathy - Skilled medical professionals skilled in the body, natural medicines, and understanding the connection between mind and body.
2. Herbal medicines and other home remedies -Medicines that are naturally developed and grown that address prevention and interventions.
3. Acupuncture- Chinese medicine designed to address conditions such as anxiety and depression
4. Massages - Physical relaxation to reduce body tensions and stiffness
5. Exercise- Addresses stress relief, builds cardio and muscle, and improves serotonin
6. Aromatherapy and essential oils- Enhances and relieves stress related system, cleans the environment, improves medical conditions
7. Reiki- Creates chakra balances and body's equilibrium

Spirituality & Meditation

For your mind, many people like to engage in prayer, meditation, yoga to help foster healing for their mind.

Spirituality is extremely important to many Black individuals, and has been seen in traditional practices of Voodoo (also spelled Vodou, Voudou, Vodun). Voodoo in the Western World is widely misunderstood. Voodo is a religious practice, now practiced widely in African countries and Haiti. The word Voodoo means spirit or deity and it is a worldview that encompasses philosophy, medicine, justice, and religion. The fundamental principle is that everything is in spirit. The goal of Voodoo is to “serve the spirits” (sevi lwa) through prayer and various devotional rites at God and particular spirits for health, protection, and favor. Devotional rites include song, dance, prayer, and diet. Engaging in spiritual practices such as voodoo can help foster spiritual healing.

It is important to think about what brings meaning in your life. To practice spirituality, you must ask yourself, “What brings me peace?”.

1. For example, many people find meaning in practicing their faith and religion by going to church.
2. Some people enjoy meditation or prayer to find peace.
3. Healing circles can be used as well
4. Mentorship programs can allow you to connect with other people that also experience the same realities that you do – especially in regard to racial trauma, discrimination, and culture.

We learned to "self-hate" through a society that convinced us that Black was less than. On our journey to reclaim our self-love, we learn to love ourselves. Loving ourselves means that we embrace all parts of our identity: our spirits, our minds, our bodies, our knowledge, our histories, our community, and each other. Healing ourselves from race trauma means that we embrace and empower ourselves to seek support.

Healing through Storytelling

While you may know of those practices, another traditional practice is story telling. Historically, storytelling is an important way to heal in Black history – Black people come from a long line of story tellers. Storytelling also allows for your experiences to be validated. Many people tell stories of not just their past, but stories of their future. People tell stories about their pain, stress, and dreams for the future.

Practicing Self-Love

Some people like to engage in self-affirmations to practice self-love. Building your relationship with others such as your family can be a great way to reduce stress. It is important to also think about things that you enjoy doing and continue to do that as part of your self-care and to reduce daily stress. Engaging in self-love may include: Attending Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy helps to explore the connections between self-love and trauma. Practice Self-Talk. Re-framing unhelpful thinking messages (i.e. "I am not good enough"), with affirmations and helpful self-talk helps to improve our capacity empower ourselves, and heal history of trauma. Develop Self-care. Take care of yourself by engaging in healthy practices that soothes your body and soul. Adapt Healthy Boundaries. By establishing boundaries between yourself and others, your work, and your relationships you can maintain your healthy sense of self.

written by: Samantha, MSW Student

Holistic teaching and healing incorporates a healing approach that includes all aspects of the self: the mind, the body, and the spirit. Each of these components can be sectioned into areas such as: spirituality, emotions, nutrition, physical health, knowledge and wisdom, community, and identity, self-concept and self-worth.

Each of these aspects can fit into our central self: the identity, self-concept and self-worth. Our identity is shaped by our experiences, our past, our environment, our past trauma, and our personalities. As we developed from a fetus to the person we are, our self-concept, self-worth, self-identity becomes shaped. Our journey and our place in the world, is further determined by the aspects of our body, mind and soul. Thus, by ensuring we "take care of" and meet these needs, we create a balance that allows us to feel centered, loved, accepted, and healthy.

Healing our mind, body and souls

As Black individuals, we are often raised and taught to work hard, often taking on several jobs and working much harder than our bodies can manage or handle. Many times, we are working to escape poverty, or provide for our families & extended family members, and build generation wealth for our families. All this hard work can have an impact our physical health, our mental wellness, and our spiritual care. By investing in all areas of our health, balancing work and personal life, and managing stress we can create healthier outcomes for our lives.

Women in particular need to keep an eye on their physical and mental health, because if we're scurrying to and from appointments and errands, we don't have a lot of time to take care of ourselves. We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own 'to do' list.

Michelle Obama

Healing Strategies

To create balance in the body

To create balance within the soul

To create balance within the mind

What to learn more?

Black Doctor Organization- BDO is the leading health and wellness destination for people of color. We leverage culture, content and technology to transform people’s lives for the better. Editorially, BDO shares culturally relevant tips and strategies on health, wellness, lifestyle and longevity.

Healthy Knowledge Magazine- HEALTHY KNOWLEDGE (HK) MAGAZINE We are a privately owned Canadian company that operates out of Ontario, Canada. Our readers and distribution are global. HK is the only monthly ethnic health magazine published in Canada.

Health Inequities in the Black Community- Black people experience disparities in health outcomes when compared to the Canadian population at large. Read More.

Holistic Care Websites to Visit

Black Health Alliance: The Black Health Alliance is a community-led registered charity working to improve the health and well-being of Black communities in Canada.

Women's Health and Women's Hands: The Mandate of Women’s Health in Women’s Hands (WHIWH) Community Health Centre is to provide primary healthcare to racialized women from the African, Black, Caribbean, Latin American and South Asian communities in Toronto and surrounding municipalities.

Taibu Community Health Centre: TAIBU Community Health Centre provides primary health care and related services for Black populations across the Greater Toronto Area as its priority population and residents of the local community of Malvern.

Carea Community Health Centre: We provide access to high quality, holistic, and inclusive care that is responsive to the needs of the community and empowers individuals to enhance their own well-being.

Black communities have survived profound historical events that has further shaped the trajectory of the future generations. Some of these experiences are related with the Atlantic Slave Trade, colonization (in Americas and Africa), and industrialization. While much of the slave trade ended by the close of the 19th century, the disruption of Black communities across the world continued in varying degrees. This situation has led to intergenerational trauma. According, to the Trauma Toolkit, when, "Cultures can be traumatized when repeated denigration, attempts at assimilation and genocide occur", it impacts generations moving forward. Trauma is defined as, trauma is defined as experiences that may impact an individual’s capacity to engage in their regular functioning (BC Provincial Mental Health and Substance Use Planning Council, 2013).  The different types of trauma include single-incident trauma, complex or repetitive trauma, developmental trauma, intergenerational and historical trauma. 

Every individual responds differently to traumatic experiences, and the extent of their symptoms are individualized in terms of its frequency, intensity, and duration (BC Provincial Mental Health and Substance Use Planning Council).  Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that results from trauma, and is categorized by the Diagnostic Statistical Manual -V (DSM-V) into four categories defined as: avoidance, arousal, negative cognition and mood, and  re-experiencing (BC Provincial Mental Health and Substance Use Planning Council, 2013), and also contribute to other mental health disorders such as Major Depressive Disorder and Anxiety Disorders (Jensen, et al., 2013).

When people experience adverse life events, such as race trauma it can be difficult to recognize the impact us. The toxic stress caused by adverse life events such as discrimination, racism, low socioeconomic status, neglect, and abuse all impact how the brain is wired and have harmful effects on the body. These changes can have a further impact on our daily functioning which is why it is helpful to utilize trauma-informed interventions. Trauma-informed interventions allow us to understand how previous and current trauma impact our thoughts and behaviour while also being mindful of how our environment impacts our functioning.

When supporting someone in a trauma-informed way, the conversation changes from “what is wrong with you” to “what happened to you”. Often we do not consider how something we have encountered could be causing changes to our bodies, including our brain. Which is why it is important to understand how your interactions within their systems such as neighborhood, school and work community, and household have an impact on your overall well-being.

Healing the Impact of Trauma

When healing trauma, it is important to use a holistic approach to healing. This can help address all aspects of one's life, where the experience of trauma has created disruptions. Some examples include:

Spiritual Wellness: spirituality does not mean religion. This is your connection with your inner self and soul, your reason for being on the planet, your belief and faith system, and your inner passion and desires. Reconnect and nurture your spirit and create wholeness within your being. Engage in activities that soothe your soul, and bring you inner peace.

Physical Wellness: take care of your physical body, the trauma symptoms you may experience, and address chronic disease and pain. Trauma can manifest itself within your body, leading to physical under wellness. Define how you care for your physical body. Speak to your medical doctor, holistic practitioner, dietitian, massage therapist, naturopathic doctor, medical marijuana physician, and other wellness practitioner for suggestions and recommendations on addressing trauma symptoms and physical pain. Eat well. Make sure you sleep. Exercise. Swim. Dance.

Emotional, Family and Cultural Support: healing is a journey that includes: surrounding yourself with friends and family who conditional support you, and build a safety net. Second, engaging in cultural and social practices that incites your soul and builds your energy. Third, learn to create balance with your pain, and infuse joy within your experiences, and allow difficult emotions to flow through you. Finally, continue to engage in building your wisdom and knowledge.

Further Resources

Race Trauma is now developing interest, but it is not a new term. There are many resources and articles complied on this topic, and suggestions to how to heal.

The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van der Kolk is a book that describes how our brain and bodies are impacted by trauma. The book is an effective resource for caregivers who want to be trauma-informed. The book uses case studies to illustrate what these changes may look like as well as provides trauma-informed interventions that may be helpful.

Trauma disrupts a child’s emotional and cognitive development which can have an impact on the family.  Some of the behaviors you may see from your child are listed in: Helping your Child Heal.

As there are many levels that you may be impacted by trauma, Racial Stress and Self-care: Parent Tip Tool address’ racial stress and trauma for caregivers to understand the overall impact of these experiences on the family, and self-care tools.

When Black folks get together, we build our stories

Do not estimate the power of:

1. Therapy and Support! Engage in individual counselling/psychotherapy and attend support groups to help you heal from your experiences of trauma.
2.  Knowledge is Key! Seek resources such as books and videos with helpful tools. If you are having trouble sleeping, try using a relaxation video.
3. Storytelling! Talking as a family about the things you have experienced and how to overcome those experiences is helpful! Share stories as a family, and amongst friends. Debrief and talk through these experiences. Learn to adapt a process of externalizing your experience.

In healing trauma, we don't say 'what is wrong with you", we ask: what happened to you.

Have a story for us? A creative idea? Want to share your insight?

In building community, we strive to hear from you about your ideas, your creative writing, and businesses that support Black community members. We are based primarily in Durham Region, but are accepting articles and resources for all of Ontario.

Presenting skills?? We are accepting short videos, webinars or educational tools that may be helpful for Black youth, adults, and parents.

Send you suggested topics & interests to:

Organizations can begin implementing an anti-oppressive framework by identifying guiding principles.  Furthermore, (Nzira & Williams, 2009) provide a clear achievable list in terms of what principles an agency should consider within their framework:

• Respect and welcome diversity within the work place
• Identify stereotypes and prejudices through gaining accurate knowledge of people or groups that differ from us in some aspect of identity
• Commitment to use power and privilege to benefit others
• Work to achieve communality, sharing and equality amongst others
• Be aware of negative aspects of the culture and structures of the society in which we live, and try to counteract them and change them
• Recognize the pervasiveness and seriousness of oppression in the world, and commit to ourselves to positive action to remedy and prevent it
• Study first-hand accounts by those who experience oppression to understand its reality, nature and prevalence, and to gain authentic knowledge for tackling it (Nzira & Williams, 2009).

On a structural level, it is important to consider and develop strategies to address key practice areas in an AO framework.  These practice areas include: empowerment, education, building alliance, language, alternative healing strategies, advocacy, social justice/activism, and fostering reflexivity.

Key practice areas:

Empowerment Involve service users in decisions that concern their care, from a family level to within the institutions within the organization.  Family-centered practice is a step towards creating an environment where service users feel empowered in their own experiences.

• In empowerment practices, service users are involved in all decisions which impact them. This include: programs, policies and agenda setting within the organization (Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012).
• Includes the views of the families and whom they wish to be included in the process (Burke & Harrison, 2002).
• Use a multidimensional change strategies which incorporate the concepts of networking, service user involvement, partnership and participation (Burke & Harrison, 2002)
• Direct strategies include:
  • Identify and develop family strengths
  • Identify their coping strategies and resources which help them cope
  • Identify their experiences of racism and oppression
  • Assist families to advocate for their specific needs
  • Support families to gain the tools to challenge power and develop a strong identity
  • Build relationships with families to minimize the power imbalances(Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012).

Education refers to the process of training which may occur for staff to build their capacity to understand and work within a culture of AO practice.  Some identified strategies and objectives are:

• Ensure that key staff team members, managers, Board members have a clear understanding and knowledge base of issues of race, racism and privilege.
• Ensure that racism and oppression is considered when working with families who are marginalized and racialized as possible influence upon their mental health.
• Provide staff with a clear understanding of their organizational culture which focuses upon anti-oppressive practice, inclusivity and equity
• Ensure staff, management, and board members are provided opportunities for training and supervision to increase their learning and application of anti-oppressive framework.
• Specific strategies include: defining and addressing racism, teaching the history of racism, developing leadership, and developing a multidirectional accountability(Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012).

Building Alliances refers to partnerships and collaborations with community partners in this process of:

• Community development and practice helps to develop and build alliances with community members. This is an important focus for anti-racist and anti-oppression strategy as described by (Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012).  Building alliances can be powerful in numerous ways but particularly:
  • Provide support and political visibility
  • Challenge power and privileges, change perceptions and racism on multiple levels
  • Develop direct action and campaigns to support AO on several organizational levels(Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012).
  • Is flexible without losing focus (Burke & Harrison, 2002), which refers to developing alliances with families and learns to become more flexible as opposed to maintain allied with rigid policies which may be oppressive.

Language is considered in terms of providing appropriate language interpretation within meetings and documents to ensure the individual or family can engage at a similar level with the staff team member.  Language is also considered in how relationship and trust is developed between the service provider and service user, as well as how the service provider defines the service user (Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012).  Some suggestions include:

• Avoid the use of titles, ranks or positions which can put distance between the service providers and the family
• Ensure that use of language is sensitive
• Avoid the use of labels and judgements that focus on pathology, rather focusing on people’s strengths is important
• Explore institutions to determine if they reinforce or resist racism within language usage
• As much as possible, use interpretation professionals from the same ethno-cultural background as the service user
• Ensure documents are translated for people who do not speak or read English
• Be sensitive to individuals who choose not to use interpreters because of their own worries about confidentiality

Fostering reflexivity  refers to the practice of engaging in critical self-knowledge and examination of oneself, developing a greater understanding of oppression and racist principles, and acknowledging the existence of institutional racism and oppression within the organization.  By engaging in fostering reflexivity, people who experience racism, oppression and who are marginalized can begin to reclaim their identity and their history.  Suggestions for practice includes:

• Continuous self-examination and reflection in anti-oppression principles(Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012).
• Self- assessment of how the clinician’s or workers own social identity and values affect the information they gather(Burke & Harrison, 2002).

Alternative healing strategies refers to Anti-oppressive practices shift closer to the social model to understand mental health difficulties.  The medical model, used by the dominant culture, focused primarily on the individual as ill and seeks medications and related treatment modalities to treat the individual.  By accepting a more holistic approach, the individual is invited to explore anti-racist mental health services.  As identified using the example provided by the Hong Kook Mental Health Services organization, including discussion of the “whole person” shifts the conversation and focus upon all areas of the individual’s experiences which is impacted by their difficulties.

Suggestion for practice includes:

• Consider other holistic approaches into treatment which promote and are responsive to the diversity of human experiences and worldviews (Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012).
• Gather information from the service user on what healing interventions they have used and encourage the conversation to talk about alternative methods in healing.

Advocacy, Social justice/activist refers to as service providers, there may be opportunities for one to take on a role of supporting and assisting service users who are experiencing oppression.  However, there is a fine line between advocating and supporting an individual or family, between disempowering and persuading.  It is further important to ensure that the service provider follows the needs of the service user. Achieving social justice is a collaborative effort between the service organization and the user, as well as collaboration with external professionals involved within the service user’s life experiences (Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012).

Some strategies to support advocacy, social justice/activism include:

• Promote policies that tackle discrimination
• Resist policies that can be perceived as racist
• Support critical deconstruction of the concept of race
• Increase visibility of minorities in the media (this is further translated in print marketing tools, training materials, and the organization website)
• Become involved in planning tables which focus upon advocacy, social justice and resiliency
• Hire, train and recruit people into the organization that serve different racial groups at all levels in the organization(Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012).
• Challenges and changes existing ideas and practice which is oppressive to others (Burke & Harrison, 2002)
• Analyze the oppressive nature or organizational culture, as well as how these structure impact practice (Burke & Harrison, 2002).
• Has a critical analysis of the issues of power, both personal and structural (Burke & Harrison, 2002).

Anti-oppressive (Equity-Lens) FrameworkDevelopment

can occur within six changes.  These change avenues include:

• Policy development: analysis of current policies, the development of new policies, development of a procedure to handle complaints, and a risk management policy.
• Documentation: refers to the actual anti-oppressive framework, and other documents requires to support implementation. In this framework, these documents are later referred to in the context of a training curriculum.
• Program development: identifying the unique needs of diverse service users and working in a collaborative model which builds alliance and fosters healthy helping relationships
• Human resources: identify key strategies and attach supporting policies to ensure greater equity for opportunities offered to diverse communities
• Skills and training: refers to process of developing and enhancing staff skill and expertise on AO.
• Monitoring and evaluation: consists of a data collection process to identify a baseline, assess objectives and initiatives focused upon delivering culture and procedural change(Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2016), (Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012) and (Fithian, 2016).

This article was reprinted from: Implementing an Equity-based Framework within Organizations written by: Nicole Perryman

“What determines oppression is when a person is blocked from opportunities to self-development, is excluded from the full participation in society, does not have certain rights that the dominant group takes for granted, or is assigned a second-class citizenship, not because of individual talent, merit, or failure, but because of his or her membership in a particular group or category of people” (Mullaly, 2010, p. 40).

Ontario is currently undergoing transformation of children’s mental health to create better service delivery and support easier accessibility for mental health services for children and families. According to the draft report on Moving on Mental Health report, “the government is committed to improving mental health services for children and youth with mental health problems so that they and their parents have access to a consistent set of easy to identify supports and services and confidence in the people and agencies providing those services” (Ministry of Children and Youth Services, 2013, p. 4). Currently, mental health services have not been accessible for all children and families, and service delivery has worked with a medical model which does not work well with many families who ascribe to a different belief and practice system. Families have experienced barriers to accessing services and to finding services which are responsive and empathetic to their families’ needs. Some families have experienced inaccessibility due to experiences of oppression, racism, inequitable practices, and cultural insensitivity.

Through the Moving on Mental Health, the government assured to develop accessible and diverse children’s mental health services in Ontario which were focused upon:

• the promotion of optimal child and youth mental health and well-being through enhanced understanding of, and ability to respond to, child and youth mental health needs through the provision of evidence informed services and supports;
• provide children, youth and families with access to a flexible continuum of timely and appropriate services and supports within their own cultural, environmental and community context;
• provide community-based services that are coordinated, collaborative and integrated, creating a culture of shared responsibility; and,
• be accountable and well-managed (Ministry of Children and Youth Services, 2013, p. 5).

During this period of change within the children’s mental health services, there were also changes in how agencies conduct their businesses and ensuring that inclusive and equitable services are provided to their service users. Another key feature of changes is the Accessibility for Ontarians Disability Act, which sets legislation in place that enforces businesses and organizations to develop and follow legislation and policy which fosters accessibility and inclusive environment (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2016).

Furthermore, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which completed a comprehensive report on the experiences of Indigenous communities in Canada promoted legislation and policy development which acknowledged racism and oppressive practices within institutions. This report played a significant role in advocating for the adoption of anti-oppressive and cultural competent practices for Indigenous communities. Some of the recommendations suggested changes to legislation would help to ensure areas of need would receive appropriate funding for their programs. Often times, agencies can respond by developing creative and innovative ways to engage in communities based upon what would work best for them.
Many organizations have responded to these significant governmental changes and to other similar events by developing anti-oppressive and inclusive practices within their organizations. It is believed that by creating sustainable and cultural changes within the organization there will become greater accessibility for diverse families and communities to receive mental health services.

Systemic racism impacts the social and cultural fabric of the city, as well as the mental health of its participants. Systemic racism can appear overt, as described in the above article with an African-Canadian youth was referred to in a hateful term. This is evident in staff room discussions or used by youth to staff. This experience can have lasting traumatic effect on the individual, their brain functioning and mental health. Systemic racism can also be easily silenced by others. This silencing can also occur within the workplace, and lead to disastrous effects upon the employee. Other times, systemic racism is embedded within the policies and practices of the agency.Studies find that mental health awareness and psycho-education is critical within communities impacted by racism and discrimination. Research demonstrates that racism can create barriers to access mental health services (Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012).

In all, it is important for organizations to develop an equity strategy plan to address inequities which occur in their policies and procedures, their organizational culture, leadership and employment.

This post was adapted from: The Case for Equity Development

Black people experience health disparities in Canada, and internationally. This can mean that Black people:

• experience barriers to access health care
• experience maltreatment and dismissive behavior by physicians and health care professionals
• experience misdiagnosis and do not receive necessary tests
• have higher rates of diseases and remaining unwell before a proper diagnosis
• higher rates of death and lower life expectancy.

This disparity does not tell us that Black people live unhealthy lifestyles that are leading to death. It tells us that due to systemic racism, anti-Black racism, and discrimination, Black people are treated inequitably and this is impacting their health.

Many Black men and women have shared some of their specific experiences with health professionals in Ontario and throughout the country: These experiences have led to feelings of unworthiness, helplessness, isolation, shame, and hopelessness. These feelings can further have an impact on mental health, and correlates with further feelings of depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorder, and borderline personality disorder.

In searching for supports available, we located the following resources:

Information Resources

BLACK PHYSICIANS OF ONTARIO ASSOCIATION

This website lists resources for current physicians, medical students, and new graduates. There is a list physicians available in their roster, and information on their practice focus currently in Ontario.

BLACK DOCTOR. ORG

This is an American-based website that provides articles, research and information on multiple health and wellness experiences and challenges for Black community members. The site addresses a range of diseases and health practice that can become a good resource for Black individuals

Community Health Centers

There are a range of community health centers that specialize in health equity and physical health. These organizations employ physicians, psychiatrists, counselors, nurse practitioners, and other health professionals. They focus on understanding individuals in a holistic approach, and gives consideration for both prevention of diseases and proper intervention.

Women's Health and Women's Hands

Taibu Health Community Health Centre

Articles & Research Papers

• Physicians/Dentists/Optometrists/ Health Associations & Centres/ Midwives / Naturopaths/Chiropractors - The Facebook posts lists a directory of physicians in Ontario. You may need to be apart of the Black Community Toronto Support group to access. Or contact us.

• Systemic Racism in Endometriosis Health Care- Many Black women experience the painful medical challenge with endometriosis, but also experience disparities in treatment and care. This article also provides information on support groups available for women who are diagnosed with endometriosis.
• Radiant Health Magazine- is an African health magazine covering topics that pertain in the community.

Our Blog

In August 2020, we started a series called, "Let's Talk Virtual Cafe". The Talk is partially a focus group designed to learn more from the community about what is needed for family interventions and second, to create a safe space to start the conversations on Mental Health, Women, Masculinity, Parenting, LGBTQ community & more. To join one of our Cafe's register on Event Brite:

Each week we will post highlights of our discussions & feedback from the community.

Let's Talk Cafe: Instagram Live... Black people & Mental Health

This segment was hosted by Tasia Richards, our Core Manager who interviewed Seana Broderick, Mental Health Practitioner.

Let's Talk Cafe: for Women

We recently explored with women, what are the key themes and experiences which impact their daily lives, their families and their communities. Our discussion supported the need for safe places to explore and discuss our experiences in a supportive and validating environment. We hosted a passionate group of 17 women who joined our first chat.

Our discussion highlighted the struggles Black women experience in their daily lives, and their wellness practices that help them to cope and manage with the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual toll on their bodies. Many women shared the need for deep breathing exercises, yoga, walks, music, spending time with close people, watching television, writing, faith and other ways to create a sense of peace & joy within their experiences.

If you would like to also share your experiences, complete our survey on:

Can't Attend the Let's Talk Cafe's? Complete our Survey to share your perspectives and contribute to the Project:

What to Learn More?

Visit our About Us page to learn more about our initiatives and consider becoming involved with the Project. Our success depends on you, and we look forward to working together.

We have spent the past few months, June 2020 to now talking about anti-Black racism. We have witnessed the horror of Mr. Floyd's murder, and have fought for justice for many Black youth, men and women killed by the police and other citizens. We have watched as many have pulled titles off the shelves, "White fragility" by Dr. Robin DiAngelo, "The Skin we are in" by Desmond Cole, and "So you want to talk about race", by  Ijeoma Oluo. We have applauded bookstores, clothing stores, social media, social services, and other organizations who dared to stand in solidarity and post, "anti-Black racism" pledges on their websites. It is not new to us. But, a little sigh of relief came as I finally felt validated-- for a minute. But what does anti-Black racism mean? How does this impact our lives? Our children's lives?

In Ontario, it means that Black babies experience a different life than other children. It means that you can expect racism exists throughout their childhood into their adulthood. It means that Black children don't have access to the same treatment in health care. It means that Black girls don't love their skin, and wish they were different. It means that Black boys feel like they are always in trouble, and nobody cares about them. It means that Black boys and girls are separated from their families, and placed in foster care. It means that they will remain in foster care, and may never return home or become adopted. It means that Black youth are discouraged from entering University, and forced into trades careers. It means that Black men are stopped by the police, more than their counterparts, and further arrested and charged. It means that Black males spend more time in per-sentence custody than other youth. It means that Black males are sentenced for lengthier time in prison. It means that Black men and women enter relationships with inherent feelings of shame, worthlessness, and low self-confidence, and these stressors can negatively impact their relationships. It means that Black adults often feel isolated. They are rarely promoted to supervisor or managerial positions, although they have the education and the experience. It means that when they begin to speak in a meeting, they are often interrupted and their ideas disregarded. It changes you. It alters your personality.

How can you become an Ally?

For youth, it means that you create spaces for young people to use their voice. You educate them on how the system operates, and you give them tools on how they can dismantle the system. You give them choices. You give youth choices to create their own path, and where they experience barriers, you create a way. You encourage them, so youth can empower themselves. You create spaces for representation. People that look like them, to mentor and support them. You include their stories, their culture, and their lived experiences in your curriculum and reading lists. You post pictures of people that look like them on the wall, alongside the pictures of their friends. You promote & engage their success, their creativity, their art, their experiences, and their identity in spaces where they once felt ignored, and isolated. You learn to examine your own biases and belief systems, and you learn to accept guilt.

When you do, when you give Black youth space to develop and cultivate their identity... you develop a strong Black community, a stronger city and region, a stronger province and a much stronger nation. Imagine if all of our children had no barriers to access success? Imagine how far along we will be as a nation?

Black Girl Magic

From The Book Shelf

There are so many titles. Find your next book, at these retailers: Notability, A Different Booklist, and Knowledge Bookstore

• Woke: A Poet's Call to Justice
• Black Boy White School
• On the Come Up
• Don't Forget your crown

Seeking Youth's Submissions

To share your story, please write for us, share your videos, and share your music! Your work will be featured on our website, promoted amongst our community, and showcased at our 2021 Wellness Fair.

Join our team, promote our initiative and volunteer to help shape healthier families for our community. We create and promote mentorship opportunities for youth. Contact us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

On August 12, 2020, we hosted our 2nd edition of the series called, “Let’s Talk Virtual Cafe”. The Talk is partially a focus group designed to learn more from the community about what is needed for family interventions and second, to create a safe space to start the conversations on Mental Health, Women, Masculinity, Parenting, LGBTQ2s community & more. In this segment, we featured, "Seana Broderick", a community mental health practitioner and private practice clinician that shared her experiences of working with individuals, families and communities with mental health. The August 12 session was only a powerful discussion that highlighted key themes in Mental Health in the Black Community and in Ontario.

What are the concerns for our community members and their mental health?

-Lack of accessible & available mental health supports

-Addressing stigma and ridicule by family & community members who don't understand mental health

-Individuals with poor mental health or are unwell, are criminalized and penalized by the police and family members

-Social media has negatively impacted mental health for youth and adult community members

-Lack of "language" and knowledge to express how we feel about ourselves, our identity, and our feelings

-Lack of availability of counsellors & psychotherapists who LOOK LIKE US, and can understand the unique experiences of Black youth & community members

What are the gaps that exist in accessing current mental health supports?

In Ontario alone, there are gaps and barriers that exist for children, youth and adults in accessing mental health supports. For members of the Black community, these gaps are created and perpetuated by anti-Black racism, systemic oppression, poverty, and other systemic issues that are difficult to address by using one method. As a result, young people and adults do not receive the mental health support they require in their lives-- and in fact, become involved in "other" systems, such as the criminal justice system because their mental health needs were never addressed in a timely way. In addition, the cafe participants identified that "concerning behaviours" are not easily recognized in families, and thus individuals with mental health concerns do not access prevention and intervention services until it is too late.

Mental health is a social determinate of health! It is imperative that the needs are addressed on a systemic level to produce change. That is why we are here.

[A] gap [in] the Black community, [is] mental health is education. There is a long history within the Black community of marginalizing and shaming mental health issues. This history is often intergenerational and we are told to "be strong" (which also perpetuates stereotypical ideas of strength within the Black community). In general, Black communities are not properly educated on mental health issues which later affects the way that they react to mental health issues, understand their own mental health issues, etc.

Gaps in accessing mental health resources for the Black community:

• Fear of contacting the police due to brutality & lack of training in mental health
• Not realizing that the mental health impact of "post traumatic stress and complex trauma" associated with living in violent communities and home environments
• Financial barriers due to poverty or lack of disposable funds to spend on mental health supports
• Not able to find counselors and psychotherapists who "look like me", understand the traumatic impact of anti-Black racism, and understand my cultural and ethnic identities
• Lack of understanding of specific "emotional and physical" triggers which can exacerbate mental health symptoms, and concerns.
• Lack of understanding of how mental health supports are provided
• Fear of using Employee based counselling supports due to a need for privacy

How do we support mental wellness in our own lives?

Our participants were clear, mental wellness is not about using one strategy that helps us to address our mental health. Our mental health is as important as our physical health, and we need to ensure that we are seeking the supports to maintain our wellness, and address concerns and symptoms. Supporting our mental health is difficult, given the gaps we identified but not supporting our mental health can lead to serious problems such as extended periods of hospitalization, police involvement, and suicide. The participants in the virtual cafe understood and believed that our mental health can be impacted by such difficulties such as:

Any surprises? Given that the "global pandemic" has impacted everyone's lives, it is imperative that we focus on developing ways to create "safety" in our lives, manage symptoms of distress, such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, and we encourage you to use our platform as the first step to seeking support.

"Mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical are characteristics of well-being. Activities to care for yourself in these areas are: exercising, mediation/relaxation, hair, skin, and nail care, and expressing emotion through creativity (art, dance, and writing)"

Let us help

If you are seeking mental health services, contact us today. We will provide support, counselling services, advocacy, and case management through Kujenga Wellness Project and our partners:

If you are a private social worker, counselor or psychotherapist, an Employee Assistance Provider, and/or able to provide facilitation of groups, webinars or workshops, or individual sessions and would like to join our specialized rooster of support agents, complete our interest form:

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Articles on Mental Health