Campaign aims to underscore racism’s mental toll on Black Torontonians
(Toronto, ON) – The City of Toronto in partnership with TAIBU Community Health Centre recently announced the first ever Black Mental Health Day in Canada, if not North America, to be officially proclaimed on Monday, March 2, 2020.
Ethiofidel recently sat down with Liben Gebremikael, Executive Director of TAIBU Community Health to talk about this historic occasion and what it all means.
Gebremikael who was born and raised in Ethiopia before coming to Canada had a lot to say about the issues and why this Day is only the beginning.
“There are more than 400,000 people of African descent who call Toronto home, yet Canadian data and research about the prevalence of mental health in the Black community barely exist,” said Gerbremikael. “While we are encouraged by this campaign’s launch; I believe Black Mental Health Day is long overdue and this proclamation serves as important and necessary first step.”
His direct experience and work in the community suggests there’s not only an over representation of Black Canadians in mental health institutions, but there’s a growing number of Black males who only access mental health services through the criminal justice system as compared to traditional voluntary pathways.
He also tells Ethiofidel that systemic discrimination and microaggressions as social stressors can increase our risk of negative physical and mental health. He warns higher rates of anxiety, depression, suicide or suicidal thoughts as well as cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, high blood pressure in our community often lead to premature mortality.
“We are not only calling on Torontonians to take a closer look at where and how anti-Black racism impacts mental health. We are working within our communities to address barriers like stigma, denial and mistrust of the healthcare system,” explains Gebremikael. “We are also making recommendations to the government to ensure better access to timely, adequate and culturally appropriate services are priority.
To learn more or support the campaign, please visit www.blackmentalhealthday.ca or join the conversation on social media using #BlackMentalHealthDay.
