Local Journalism Initiative
Black communities have long faced barriers to mental health care. These organizations are working to change that
When Elaisha Jade Green was in her 20s, she tried to find a way to access mental health resources, but stopped several times. It took eight months to get an admission appointment after she was referred to a clinic that specializes in supporting black women. It took another two months to finally get an appointment with a counselor. And then the offices changed. “The offices moved from an area that was 10 minutes by tram from me to an hour trip on the TTC,” recalls Green. She said she continued with a few sessions, but after a while she had to stop. “It was too far away for me to be able to continue and maintain this.” Green, a 27-year-old technology worker, has tried over the years to access services to improve her mental health, but has faced roadblocks more than once. In her preteens, when she told a family member that she wanted to try therapy, she was not taken seriously and was encouraged to rely on religion. Visits to the family doctor were unsuccessful. Green attended an admission appointment at the Addiction and Mental Health Center (CAMH), but described the process as cold. Elsewhere, when she was able to access free treatment sessions, she said that the counselor was sometimes late or did not show up. “There are no words to describe how difficult it has been to access mental health resources,” she said. “Literally crawling out of bed, showering, getting dressed and then looking in the mirror, taking a deep breath and saying, ‘I’m going to go out and talk to someone about the things I never talked to anyone about, but I have to travel an hour to do that, and then not having that adviser or even showing up is heartbreaking, ”said Green. There are several challenges that overlap with black Canadians that can lead to worse mental health outcomes. Examples from this year alone include a StatsCan report released earlier this month that revealed an increase in Canadians struggling with food insecurity and mental health problems as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. A study last year showed that black families were twice as likely to go hungry as white families. The widespread recognition of racism and police brutality also affected the black community in particular. As a black woman, Green dealt with a number of circumstances of financial insecurity, being the breadwinner for her family from a young age, while also struggling with micro-aggressions at work, which increased her need for mental health services. For a while, she practiced meditation and mindfulness to take care of her health with her own hands and founded Your Mindful to help share what she learned. Now, Green is also working for a company that distributes $ 2,000 in benefits a year in mental health services to its employees. With this flexibility, she was able to find a therapist to connect with. But, having gone through so many obstacles trying to find free support, she said it is time for governments to intervene and make mental health more accessible, especially for blacks. The lack of disaggregated data or studies is often a barrier to understanding mental health needs linked to race and identity in Canada. But there are some projects underway to increase the arsenal of statistics and research. Pathways to Care, a five-year ongoing research project, is studying ways to create better pathways for mental health services and addictions for young blacks under 30. “We are really trying to understand what are the things that are preventing young black people from receiving care and, if they are under care, what are the things that can be improved to ensure that they get the care they need,” said Tiyondah Fante -Coleman, researcher at Pathways. In her role in the project, she said she is strongly focused on ensuring that the care that young black people receive is safe and reflects their needs and the elements of their reality that can affect their mental health. The research group was formed through collaboration with several Toronto-based community health services: Black Health Alliance, TAIBU Community Health Center, Wellesley Institute, CAMH and East Metro Youth Services, now known as Strides Toronto. Financial support was provided by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, as well as the Federal Government’s Fund for the Promotion of Health Equity: Mental Health of Black Canadians, which seeks to gather new evidence on culturally focused programs that address the mental health needs of blacks Canadians. Pathways held focus groups with young people across southern Ontario, including Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener, Waterloo, London and Windsor. Fante-Coleman said that many of the barriers that exist are not so different from the barriers that exist in other spheres of young people’s daily lives. Income is a challenge that hinders the possibility of consistent treatment. Young people also mentioned not having access to caregivers with similar life experiences that hindered the process, for example, the same race, LGBTQ experience or experience with the incarceration system. “What usually happens is that young black people have to try to find a new service that meets their needs, which further delays the service, or they completely disconnect from services,” said Fante-Coleman. The Pathways plan is that, with these experiences collected, by 2023 your team will be able to create documents and guidelines on what organizations can do at a system level to change this reality for black youth. “The ultimate goal is to create a safer space for mental health care for black children and youth across the province and across the country, if that ripple effect happens,” she said. In the meantime, basic funds for mental health care for blacks have grown amid the pandemic and racial strife. Betty Mulat, from Vancouver, came up with the idea of trying to raise $ 20,000 to create a fund to cover the costs of therapy sessions for blacks. After receiving a large amount of donations, she increased the goal. Mulat ended up accumulating more than $ 200,000 in donations to the Vancouver Black Therapy and Advocacy Fund. The Fund, which prioritizes blacks who are also refugees, the disabled and LGBTQ, now works to find a suitable therapist for the participants and pay the bill on their behalf. In its first round, the fund was able to provide 25 patients with five months of free therapy – about 20 sessions each. “I started because I understand the fight personally. As a teenager, I accessed mental health services through the ministry, pro bono, ”said Mulat. And as she grew up, Mulat, now 24, managed to separate funds for therapy, but she knows that it can come at a sacrifice and not everyone can fit into her budget. Mulat said that with the intergenerational trauma that endures on a daily basis and the micro-aggressions that blacks experience, mental health care for the community is vital. “[Therapy] plays a big role in maintaining the lives of blacks, ”she said. Angelyn Francis is a reporter for the Star in Toronto who covers equality and inequality. His report is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. Contact her by email: [email protected] Francis, Reporter for the Local Journalism Initiative, Toronto Star