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LET’S TALK – Not at the Margins: A Conversation about Mental Health

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BY: ALYSSA MAHADEO

The way we act and the way we feel are like two sides of the same coin. Many people suffer in silence, unsure of how to seek the help they need, while friends and family aren’t able to spot the signs to prevent a potentially harmful situation from escalating.

For years the Caribbean community has disregarded their mental state, refusing to address the issues they face or the feelings they have for fear of being judged or classified as ‘mentally unstable.’ Statistics cannot account for the many people who are not being seen or heard as they mask their pain, but movements are happening every day in order to change this conversation.

On Friday, February 2nd, 2018 the United Way of Peel Region’s Black Advisory Council (BAC) explored the stigma and cultural responses to Mental Health in the Black Community. Community leaders, policymakers, residents and business leaders came together to launch Black History Month with a much needed and meaningful event: Not at the Margins: A Conversation about Mental Health.

15.3% of the racialized population in Peel are Black Individuals with a total of 131,060 Black people spread out over Caledon, Brampton, and Mississauga.

“The Region of Peel is one of the most diverse communities in Canada: more than 55% of Peel’s population is racialized and Blacks are the second largest racialized group in Peel,” said Len Carby, Chair of the Black Community Advisory Council. 

Despite the early hour, and the frigid temperatures, it was a full house at the breakfast and networking event hosted by emcee Allan Jones who kept the crowd lively and engaged as he introduced the morning’s speakers with special acknowledgements to the Mayors, and community MPs in attendance.

“When I read the report put out by the United Way using the most recent 2016 census data, I was shocked,” Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey addressed. “The findings were really very powerful and put us in a place where we have to understand how much of our community is struggling. It showed the gap between the rich and the poor and how much it’s grown and how dramatic the change is within this region.”

The United Way of Peel Region is focused on poverty reduction, and are collectively working together to reduce poverty, implement preventative measures and support people living in crisis right now. Living in poverty is one of the leading causes of mental well-being, living in the unknown, and being unsure of how you will be able to provide for yourself or your family.

In working to further the conversation, the audience was able to hear from three passionate experts in the field advocates for mental health and actively working in aid in efforts to break the stigma of mental health in the Black Community. These three black women serve as role models to the community and their stories and experiences spoke to the overwhelming need for more people to speak up.

“I started noticing certain things about myself, I starting walking fast, talking fast, eating quickly, brushing my teeth in a hurry, I couldn’t sleep and everything was always going too fast and I couldn’t understand it,” shared Keynote speaker and Mental Health Advocate Stacy-Ann Buchanan. “My roommate at the time said, ‘I think you’re showing the signs of anxiety,’ and went into my room and I sat down and thought to myself anxiety? White girls get that.”

Stacy-Ann’s experience speaks to only one of many that she would encounter and have to face head-on. Growing up with Jamaican parents they didn’t understand what she was going through, therefore how could anyone hope to help?

Heart racing, the voices in her head saying the world would be better off without her, Stacy-Ann has been fighting against Mental Health issues and urges the Black community to do the same. Through her documentary the Blind Stigma featuring other men and women of Black descent she demonstrates how bad it can get, how hopeless people can feel when they feel like there is no way out, and no one present to listen.

Following the keynote address, Stacy-Ann alongside Colleen Taffee of TAFFE Consulting, one-link, Trillium Health Partners and Dr. Hayley Hamilton, Scientist at the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, spoke together in a panel discussion led by moderator Sharon Douglas. Their conversation was both empowering and solutions-oriented. Each woman spoke to their own experience, as well as how issues could potentially be addressed moving forward to ensure that people are informed of the options they have and to ensure they know they are not alone.

In addition to the deep and meaningful conversations had that morning, three individuals from within the community were recognized and awarded for their work with the Best in Community awards. The Youth Leadership Award was presented to Jermaine Frazer for his work as a program manager at One Voice Team Youth Leadership Program.

The Leadership in Business Award was presented to Frederick Roberts, owner of community restaurant Freddy’s Kitchen in Mississauga. The award was accepted by Mississauga citizen of the year Linden King on Frederick’s behalf.

Finally, the Community Leadership Award was presented to Len Carby, Chair of the Black Community Advisory Council, for all of the work he has contributed as a member of the Black Community and the civic leadership through dedication to the success of the Black Community using innovative approaches to meeting community needs locally in Peel.

Since being established in 1967 United Way of Peel Region inspires people from all walks of like to come together to raise funds, volunteer and motivate policy and attitude changes that lead to the improvement of people’s quality of life in Brampton, Caledon, and Mississauga. United Way’s community investment focus is to help individuals and families move from a life of poverty to one full of possibilities.

The United Way of Peel supports three community advisory councils: the South Asian Advisory Council, the Chinese Advisory Council, and the Black Community Advisory Council formed to inform the development of strategies addressing key issues affecting Peel’s Black Community. Their members come from all walks of life including business, health, education, and social services.

Creating lasting change at local levels starts with speaking out for those who cannot speak. Together as a community, we can continue the conversation so that everyone shall be heard.

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Promoting economic inclusivity are ways to contribute to positive financial changes in the Caribbean community

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Photo Credit: Drazen Zigic

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

How much of a difference does your upbringing make to your life? It’s a question that’s been debated for ages and, in a world with a greater focus on equity, the wealth gap within society is under the microscope.

Compare the Market AU has done a survey of more than 1,000 Canadians to ask questions about their upbringing, financial education and habits, social class and home ownership. Now, I am not sure the demographics of this research, but it did make me think; how much are we (the Caribbean community) represented in these numbers?

The survey revealed a good degree of class mobility, with 32.8% of Canadians who said they grew up working class now identifying as middle class.

Additionally, younger generations were more likely than previous generations to say they were raised upper class. While only 0.4% of Canadians aged 58 and above said they had an upper-class upbringing, this rose with each subsequent generation up to 10.8% for 18–25-year-olds. Research indicated that:

  • Younger generations are more likely to be born upper class than older generations
  • Almost one third of Canadians consider themselves serious savers
  • Over 40% of half of upper-class Canadians own a home, compared to less than a quarter of the working class

Upbringing can have a big impact on how people handle money as an adult:

  • 6% received helpful lessons on money from their parents
  • 7% said their parents taught them, but it wasn’t helpful
  • 3% said their parents didn’t teach them and they had to learn in other ways
  • 4% never received lessons from their parents on money and they still struggle today

This is where we as a community really need to focus our attention. Today, almost 40% of Canadians say they budget to save and spend on what they want, while almost a third (32.3%) consider themselves serious savers, rarely spending money on things they don’t seriously need. Over one-in-ten were impulse buyers (12.0%). Worryingly, a further one-in-ten said they rarely had savings and spent beyond their means (13.2%).

When it comes to home ownership, just under 60% of our survey respondents who were 18–25-year-olds were non-homeowners while just over 41% were homeowners (either with a mortgage or owning outright), but this changed with over 50% of 26–41-year-olds owning a home vs 47% who didn’t. Older generations were even more likely to be homeowners, with over 65% of those aged 58 and above being homeowners.

Of course, on one hand, this is to be expected. The older you are, the more time you’ve had to save up money for a house. The problem is that house prices have outstripped wage growth, so those dreaming of owning a home are chasing a goal that’s getting further away from them every year.

This is where wealth (and family financial support) can make a big difference in home ownership. In Canada, 63.1% of the working class didn’t own a home, compared to 42.5% of the upper class and 37.5% of the middle class who owned, with a mortgage.

The data shows that many Canadians have been able to work their way up the social ladder by having helpful guidance in childhood or educating themselves about money, but it isn’t always easy. As Stephen Zeller, General Manager of Money at Compare the Market notes, knowledge can be the difference between sinking and swimming in an economy that seems to be set on inflation.

“There are some great resources out there to help people get a better understanding and manage their finances. Saving even just a small amount in terms of your interest rate can save you thousands of dollars over the course of the loan.”

Promoting financial literacy and empowerment within the Caribbean community can be a positive step toward fostering a healthier relationship with money. Encouraging open discussions about financial matters, providing access to education and resources, and promoting economic inclusivity are ways to contribute to positive change.

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Canada’s international students are being hustled; What you need to know about being a student in Canada

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Photo by Rdne-Stock-Project

BY MICHAEL THOMAS

“Expenses are getting higher; everything is getting more expensive. It’s so messed up. If I had known the ground reality, I wouldn’t have come.”

These are the words of Ravneet Singh, a student who traveled over 250 miles just to go to school. What would make an international student say such a thing about Canada? Let us find out.

East Indian students make up the majority of the international students coming to Canada to study and hopefully stay and work, but there is a hefty price to pay, and one these students never bargained for.

Canada’s present government has opened the door to international students through a foreign-study visa. These aspiring youngsters spend big bucks to come here with high hopes of making it big in cities like Toronto and beyond, but it is anyone’s guess if the College recruiters ever tell these poor foreign youngsters the truth about what Canada has become recently.

Many of the colleges due to the heavy influx of students have teamed up with so-called private learning enterprises and subcontracted the courses to the latter, and as a result, Immigration Minister Marc Miller called the education the students are lining up for, “Shoddy programs.” “People are being exploited,” Miller said in an interview with a reputable news source.

There is more; these students bring over $22 billion to Canada’s economy annually, not to mention cheap labor for places like the fast-food industry, yet they are being shortchanged on their education and milked by the colleges. These foreign students pay five times the tuition of Canadian undergraduates.

This is the reason why Singh, whom I mentioned in paragraph two, cannot afford the cost of rent near his school and therefore must start his day as early as 3:00 am just so he can reach his 9:00 am class.

Even immigration consultants are reporting that business is booming thanks to foreign students. Brampton immigration consultant Sandeep Singh confessed that students now form about 90% of his firm’s business.

The Trudeau government has decided to flood Canada with immigrants, students included. This move has tripled the number of foreign students to more than one million. Today, about 1 in 40 people in the country are on a foreign-study visa.

An Environics Institute poll found that 44% of Canadians said there’s too much immigration to the country, a stunning 17-point jump from the prior year – the largest change in opinion since the survey began in 1977.

Somehow Trudeau’s government seems to have forgotten that these students would need: housing, jobs, and lots more, so as we see, arriving here is the easy part.

Let’s revisit paragraph five: What Canada has become recently? These are some of the things the college recruiters and the Trudeau government need to let these international students know before issuing these visas, taking their hard-earned money, and leaving them up to their fate:

  • Lately, Canada has become a place where a one-bedroom apartment can easily cost upwards of $2000.
  • Lately, the cost of groceries has more than tripled.
  • Lately, even the average working Canadian cannot afford the staples of day-to-day living.
  • Lately, a lot of ordinary folks are living in their cars.
  • Lately, food banks have become the second home of a large number of Canada’s population.
  • Lately in Canada, free speech does not exist. It is now called hate speech with jail time attached, if things go according to “Uncle Justin’s” plans.

Here is an example of how bad things have gotten.

This is happening countrywide even as far as Sydney, Nova Scotia. At a Hallmark store, manager Tasha Myers receives about 10 to 15 resumes from students per day, forming a thick pile in a red envelope on her counter. “Yesterday, we had at least 12 students before noon looking for literally anything. They say, ‘Just give me three or five hours a week’ or ‘I’ll wash the toilets,’” she said. Yes, this is what foreign students are reduced to in Canada.

Some students are spending more time working, or hunting for work rather than attending classes, just to keep up with the cost of living here.

Many of these private-public schools focus on selling non-degree programs with easy or broad subjects, and classes two or three days a week. It is no wonder Canada’s immigration minister fears these students will end up driving Uber taxis as a profession.

In a move to do some much-needed damage control, the country’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller has announced a temporary limit to the number of student visas and is promising further measures soon.

It speaks volumes when an immigration minister calls out colleges for “Shoddy programs and sham commerce degrees.” I am just wondering if he and his government knew this all along while issuing those hundreds of thousands of student visas.

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The African-Canadian Advisory Committee disbanded during Black History Month

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BY PAUL JUNOR

The vote by trustees of the Toronto Catholic District School Board to disband the African-Canadian Advisory Committee (ACAC) during Black History Month brought shock and dismay to many concerned Toronto: Catholic parents, community members and students. This was truly not expected as expectations were high about its vital role.

The committee has been in existence since 1984, and many hoped that it would bring much needed and necessary changes to the largest Catholic school board in North America.

Details about the mission, vision and goals of ACAC can be seen in a report titled, “Black Voices Study” that was released in June 2023 by Brandy Doan-Goas and Natalie Young. The study aimed to bring awareness to the experiences of Black students, staff and families at the TCDSB in order to allow for increased awareness and understanding of how anti-Black racism is contextually prevalent within the TCDSB.

The ACAC was devoted to ensuring that the interests of all TCDSB members, students, staff, parents, and stakeholders are advanced within the African diaspora. It notes further that it endeavors to provide success in areas of Black student achievement and well-being, Black parental engagement, and Black staff development within the operations of Catholic educational service delivery, based on data that enhance culturally relevant and responsive pedagogical practices (TCDSB n.d).

The phenomenal work that ACAC has played in the TCDSB cannot be trivialized, devalued and underestimated since its inception. The appointment of Dr. Brendon Browne as Director of the TCDSB in September 2020 (who was hired from outside the board) saw him acknowledge the reality of anti-Black racism within the board. He was aware of the crucial role that ACAC played and the work of former Chair Kenneth Jeffers and Kirk Mark, former co-coordinator of Race and Ethnic Relations, Multiculturalism and Community Services.

The appointment of Derek Chen as Superintendent of Equity (who lacked any experience in equity work and initiatives) did not further the equity agenda. The subsequent resignation of Jeffers and Mark from the ACAC brought focus to inherent deficiencies and inequities within the board.

I spoke to Kirk Mark on February 21st, regarding the TCDSB’s vote to disband the ACAC. He said he was shocked and surprised that the board has made this poorly conceived decision in light of the many: challenges, issues and concerns that have been levied against it with respect to accusations of systemic racism, particularly anti-Black racism over the years. In his capacity as a senior administrator with the TCDSB he was aware directly of the: history, culture, issues, and challenges with respect to the implementation of programs, policies, and initiatives to tackle anti-Black racism.

In an article, Jeffers posed an illuminating question in light of the motion to disband the ACAC. He writes, “The immediate question lies in the area of why the so-called ACAC was not proactive in informing the community, and what was the rationale for such draconian action by the TCDSB in this global celebration of Black History Month.”

Jeffers notes further, “The fact that the TCDSB made this decision during the height of Black History Month with the prevalent award ceremonies and statements of recognition of everyone who has presumably contributed to the development of the community is mind-boggling but not unexpected.” Rather than focus on the disbanding of this committee, Jeffers sees a light at the end of the tunnel. He hypotheses, “However, if there is a positive aspect to this, it is the fact that the humiliation and disrespect of our Black community may motivate some to determine why successes in the past were not sustained and, more importantly, what we need to do now to address the fierce urgency to improve the life of our Black youth.”

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