Promoting Health Equity: Mental Health of Black Canadians Initiative – About the Initiative
On this page
- Mental Health of Black Canadians Initiative
- The Mental Health of Black Canadians Working Group
- Inequities in Health for Black Canadians
Mental Health of Black Canadians Initiative
As part of the Promoting Health Equity: Mental Health of Black Canadians Fund, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is partnering with community-based organizations, researchers and others in Black communities to generate new evidence on culturally focused programs and interventions that address mental health and its determinants for Black Canadians. This work will include supporting the implementation of this initiative by also undertaking knowledge development and capacity building efforts. The new information and evidence produced by projects under the Mental Health of Black Canadians (MHBC) program will be shared as it becomes available.
Mental Health of Black Canadians Fund
The Promoting Health Equity: Mental Health of Black Canadians Fund supports Black-led community-based initiatives in mental health promotion that aim to increase equity and address the underlying determinants of mental health, including a focus on anti-Black racism.
Mental Health of Black LGBTQI+ Canadians
Following the open solicitation for the Mental Health of Black Canadians Fund in fall 2018, a gap was identified in projects addressing the unique needs of Black LGBTQI+ Canadian populations, who face multiple intersecting forms of stigma and discrimination that affect mental health and wellbeing. To address this gap, a new funding call was launched in 2020 to support projects developed by and for Black LGBTQI+ Canadians that aim to improve understanding and action on mental health and its determinants.
Mental Health of Black Canadians Knowledge Mobilization
To ensure that evidence and lessons learned from the Mental Health of Black Canadians Initiative are broadly shared, and to strengthen networks within and across Black communities, MHBC launched a funding call in 2020 to establish a Knowledge Mobilization Network. This fund supports the development of a national knowledge mobilization network for diverse Black populations in Canada, regarding mental health and its determinants.
Black Wellness Network
Led by TAIBU Community Health Centre, the Black Wellness Network website:
- mobilizes resources from:
- provides centralized information and resources
- offers a growing wealth of knowledge related to the mental health of Black communities
Use the drop-down menu in the top right corner of the Black Wellness Network website to select English or French.
The Mental Health of Black Canadians Working Group
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) recognizes the efforts and dedication of the Mental Health of Black Canadians Working Group who collaborate with PHAC on the implementation of the Mental Health of Black Canadians Initiative.
The membership of the Working Group includes individuals from Black communities across Canada and reflects mental health practitioners, researchers, advocates and those with lived experience. Members bring a diverse range of experience and expertise to the table regarding mental health and its intersections with anti-Black racism, and other social and economic issues facing Black communities.
The ongoing role of the Working Group includes:
- providing strategic advice and recommendations on project funding that will advance the promotion of mental health and well-being for Black communities;
- providing essential guidance on capacity building and knowledge mobilization, and;
- contributing to strengthening evidence on mental health and its determinants for Black communities.
Members bring their own views to the table based on their personal and professional expertise. They are not expected to represent the views of the organizations with which they are affiliated.
Working Group members
- Asante Haughton – Mental Health Advocate and Motivational Speaker; Peer Development and Training Manager, Stella’s Place; Co-Founder "Reach Out Response Network"; "Cypher" Web Series Host and Interviewer; Contributing Editor "Inspire Magazine"; Freelance Thinker and Writer
- Brooke Chambers – Mental Health Consultant, Speaker and Trainer; Board Member, Ontario Peer Development Initiative
- Bukola Salami – Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta
- Carl James – Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community and Diaspora, York University; Professor, Faculty of Education, York University
- Charmaine Williams – Vice-Dean, Students, School of Graduate Studies and Professor, University of Toronto; Faculty Member, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto
- Kwame McKenzie – Chief Executive Officer, Wellesley Institute; Director of Health Equity, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; Professor of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
- Myrna Lashley – Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University; Researcher, Culture and Mental Health Research Unit, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research
- Pascale Kaniasta C. Annoual – Founder and Director, Arts, Racine et Thérapies
- Robert S. Wright – Executive Director, The Peoples’ Counselling Clinic Halifax NS
- Sophie Yohani – Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Educational Psychology Department, University of Alberta
- Wesley Crichlow – Professor, Past Associate Dean (Equity); Scholar, Black queer interdisciplinary Critical Race and Intersectionality, Ontario Tech University; Board member, Black Legal Action Committee; Member, City of Toronto Partnership and Accountability Circle, Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit
Inequities in Health for Black Canadians
Social determinants and inequities in health for Black Canadians: A Snapshot reports national data on inequalities in health outcomes and determinants of health for Black Canadians, and highlights how Anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination are key drivers of health and social inequities faced by diverse Black Canadian communities.