Black Mental Health: a week to learn more in Canada and beyond
Black Mental Health Week in Canada
On March 2, 2020, the City of Toronto launched the first-ever Black Mental Health Day in Toronto, in collaboration with the TAIBU Community Health Centre. This centre primarily serves the Black community in the Greater Toronto Area, aiming to reduce health disparities for racialized and marginalized communities by providing culturally adapted care.
Black Mental Health Day aims to raise awareness about the impact of anti-Black racism on mental health and promote actions to improve the well-being of Black communities.
This day is marked by events that seek to spark dialogue and promote recognition of the need for systemic change, involving all community members, including policymakers.
In 2021, the day was extended to a week to provide a greater opportunity for awareness.
Black Mental Health Week is now commemorated in several other cities.
Mental Health in the Black community in Canada
According to a study conducted by Statistics Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Black people were more likely to report poor or fair mental health than white people (27.9% versus 22.9%, respectively).
Further studies revealed that nearly two-thirds of Black community members reported severe depressive symptoms, and nearly 30% of participants exhibited clinically significant anxiety symptoms.
Causes of mental health issues in Black communities in Canada
The Positive Mental Health Framework of the Public Health Agency of Canada, which considers individual, family, community, and societal factors, provides a solid foundation for understanding the challenges faced by Black people in Canada and how these challenges impact their mental health
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Indeed, Black communities face significant socio-economic barriers that negatively affect their mental health. These challenges include racism and discrimination, both interpersonal and institutional, as well as systemic disadvantages such as poverty, social exclusion, or limited access to culturally adapted services.
Studies have established a clear link between the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms and the daily experience of racial discrimination and microaggressions.
Challenges in accessing mental health services for Black Canadians
According to a study published in February 2025, only 38% of Black Canadians reported that their mental health needs were fully met, compared to over 50% for the general adult population.
Despite the availability of resources in urban areas where most Black Canadians live (97.8%), several barriers prevent access to mental health services:
Difficulty navigating the healthcare system
Insufficient referral to mental health professionals
Higher likelihood of being temporarily detained in the justice system due to a lack of hospital beds in psychiatric units
Long wait times for appointments with psychologists and other mental health professionals
Inability to access services due to language barriers
Lack of cultural competence among non-Black healthcare professionals, which can manifest as limited understanding of Black Canadians' experiences or failure to recognize situations and traumas that many Black Canadians face before arriving in Canada
Shortage of Black mental health professionals with similar cultural and religious beliefs
Ensuring cultural safety for Black communities in mental healthcare
To address the mental healthcare needs of Black communities, it is essential to adopt a multisectoral, multidisciplinary, and systemic approach.
In the healthcare field, ensuring cultural safety is crucial. Cultural safety is the experience of the patient, resulting from a respectful engagement that is also mindful of the power imbalances inherent in the healthcare system. Cultural safety aims to create an environment free from racism and discrimination, where patients feel safe and respected when receiving healthcare.
Ways to ensure cultural safety
Reducing barriers: Cultural safety can be achieved by reducing barriers to accessing healthcare, ensuring that services are sensitive to the cultural needs of Black patients.
Building trust: Cultural safety can be reached by strengthening trust between Black patients and healthcare providers, which is essential for better treatment adherence and health outcomes.
Promoting mental well-being: Cultural safety can be accomplished by recognizing the impact of racism and discrimination on the mental health of Black people and promoting care approaches that support their mental well-being.
A Pathway to cultural safety
To achieve cultural safety, healthcare provided can start with cultural awareness, followed by cultural sensitivity, cultural competence, and ultimately, cultural safety.
Cultural awareness: Healthcare professionals can demonstrate cultural awareness by recognizing the cultural differences and specificities of Black patients.
Cultural sensitivity: They can also show cultural sensitivity by respecting the cultural differences and values of Black patients.
Cultural competence: Finally, they can acquire cultural competence by developing the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for culturally adapted care. Cultural competence involves implementing and evaluating a care plan that takes into account the cultural beliefs and values related to health, knowledge of the incidence and prevalence of diseases, and the effectiveness of treatments.
By adopting this approach, healthcare professionals can contribute to creating a safer and more inclusive care environment for Black communities.
Similar initiatives around the world
Beyond Canada's borders, similar initiatives are flourishing to promote the mental health of marginalized communities.
In the United States
The Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month highlights the mental health of Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
In the United Kingdom
The Black Maternal Mental Health Week focuses on the mental health of mothers in Black communities.
These initiatives underscore mental health inequalities, but a crucial question remains: how can we create an environment where the need for such days or weeks no longer exists?
What are your thoughts ?
This newsletter post is written by Dr. Anifa Kalay, founder of KALKIS Health Solutions/Solutions en Santé KALKIS, a social enterprise based in Ottawa.
Its mission is to contribute to addressing health inequalities in Canada and around the world by providing educational resources for healthcare professionals and researchers , as well as consulting services in health project development and management for organizations and individuals.