Black

The Mental Health Commission of Canada is launching a new resource highlighting the experiences of African, Caribbean and Black communities with suicide in Canada to commemorate Black Mental Health Day.

To improve our understanding of the experiences of African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) communities with suicide, this resource was co-created by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and a diverse group of people from ACB communities with lived and living experience (PWLLE) with suicide. This resource aims to:

Direct Registration Link: https://redcap.link/FebTERReg

The Black population in Canada is growing mostly due to migration from Africa and the Caribbean. The largest increase is 349,000 persons during 2016-2021. While the post migration period can be challenging for immigrants and refugees, Black newcomers encounter additional barriers associated with the social determinants of health. This in turn influences their mental health.

Resilience is most often celebrated in the mental health field. Historically, it has played a key part in helping Black communities through decades of trauma. As a result, many have worn it as a badge of honour. While resilience has its place, it was never meant to be a daily way of living. Join Simone Donaldson to explore how mental health for Black communities has both been supported and compromised as a result of unhealed racial trauma, where resilience has become the coping mechanism.

Join Audrey Thompson to explore how social workers can empower Black women by integrating their dating and relationship experiences into the narrative of intergenerational trauma, while promoting inclusivity and dismantling systemic barriers in the dating world. Dive deeper into the historical context, terminology and landscape of the dating world for Black women, and discuss and redefine beauty and femininity standards that drive and define Black women's representation in the media.

Supporting the mental health needs of racialized young people
 

Presented by SickKids CCMH Learning Institute

Widespread anti-Black racism pervades the criminal justice system, where Black youth are disproportionately represented. Regardless of their age, Black youth are often perceived in the system as agitators to be feared rather than as children in need of protection and support.

There is an urgent need to design programs and supports that center and nurture Black youth through a culturally-responsive, Africentric lens. Join Amma Gyamfowa for an exploration of the holistic impact of Africentric social work and community programming on Black youth and families. Walk away with a deeper knowledge and understanding of the impact and manifestations of anti-Black racism and racial trauma on Black communities, and the key concepts in Africentric social work and counselling.

Across the profession, Black social workers are advancing best practices and quality of care with culturally-responsive and evidence-based approaches to empower and uplift Black communities.

Join us for this free, online series spotlighting Black innovation, leadership and Black-centric approaches in social work.

We’re excited to partner with our friends at the Youth Opportunities Fund at Ontario Trillium Foundation on a dialogue that centres Black and Indigenous lived and navigational experiences of the child welfare system!

How are grassroots communities organizing to tackle issues most prominent in the child welfare system? What are the challenges and opportunities they are experiencing?

Anti-Black racism is so embedded in the policies and practices of institutions that it has been functionally where racism becomes normalized and rendered invisible. Black professionals carry the unique burden of managing their own experiences of chronic racial trauma while simultaneously trying to help others navigate these same systems. Addressing Anti-Black racism can be a risk, leaving Black professionals feeling isolated and misunderstood. Chronic exposure to racial based traumatic stress, which experts equate with post-traumatic stress disorder, has a devastating impact.

Countering Islamophobia: The Role of Social Workers as Allies

June 19, 2023 @ 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. ET

Presented by: Nuzhat Jafri

The Countering Anti-Islamophobia 1O1 webinar seeks to address the realities of Islamophobia and the way in which it manifests within Canadian society.

Join YouthRex for an in-person interactive workshop + lunch + networking.
SIGN UP TO LEARN WHEN REGISTRATION OPENS
Thursday, June 22, 2023 | York University, Toronto
12:00 PM–3:00 PM EDT

Black Diplomacy: Disrupting Systems of Anti-Blackness with Policy Advocacy

Tuesday, May 16, 2023 @ 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET

Presented by: Candies Kotchapaw MSW, BSW, CYW

This course will build on the “Community-based Social Work in Policymaking: Giving Power Back to the Profession” webinar and take a deeper dive into the topics outlined.

Discussion topics will include:

Foundations of Africentric Social Work

March 24, 2023 @ 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. ET

Presented by: Amma Gyamfowa, RSW

Black and Indigenous Solidarity

February 27, 2023 @ 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET

Presented by: Giselle Dias and Viviane Saleh-Hanna

This webinar explores how to build and sustain pathways and strategies into Black and Indigenous solidarity towards collective freedom on Turtle Island, through African Diaspora, within local and global contexts.

RESERVE YOUR SPOT

Le français suit l'anglais

ABOUT THE STUDY

UOttawa researchers are looking for community and religious leaders and mental health professionals to participate in their study on the mental health of Black communities in Canada.

Ontario Technical University's Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism, in collaboration with Kimberly Cato, RP / CEO and Founder of True Roots Counselling Services and Kara Hart, Director of Program Development and Sustainability at John Howard Society of Peel-Halton-Dufferin, presents Hate Crime in Halton – A Community Perspective.

Healing the Wounds of Race Trauma: Examining Interventions for Professionals

February 10, 2023 @ 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET

Presented by: Nicole Perryman, MA, BSW, MSW, RSW, RP, CPT