Toronto clinic using cooking classes to support 2SLGBTQ+ Black youth mental health

Sherbourne Health is offering a new program designed to support the mental health of 2SLGBTQ+ Black youth through community connection and cooking.

Developed to be culturally sensitive to the unique challenges experienced by the community, the Rise and Thrive: Black Wellness Sessions are available to Black, African, Caribbean & Multiracial 2SLGBTQ+ youth aged 16 to 29, starting June 3. The programming is delivered as weekly group meetings facilitated by an experienced, culturally sensitive mental health counsellor. 

Rise and Thrive will offer participants a supportive space to discuss their experiences, develop coping strategies, and build resilience. Sessions will focus on things like suicide prevention, eating disorder support, well-being, confidence, depression, anxiety, and addressing stigma.

“We are trying to tackle the mental health stigma within the community by providing our 2SLGBTQ+ Black youth the tools to talk about mental health and mental well being and how you can thrive,” Sherbourne Health Program Director Nadjib Alamyar told Queer & Now.

He explained that in the current political climate, with transphobia and homophobia becoming more prevalent, Sherbourne’s goal is to create tools and resources to support community members in need.

“These programs not only address the need [for mental health services], but also celebrate Blackness, in particular, African Caribbean 2SLGBTQ+ youth [by] providing them a safe space to thrive and engage with the community members,” Alamyar explained.

A unique twist, Rise and Thrive utilizes food as a way to create a supportive environment to discuss mental health topics, leading participants through group cooking lessons focused on African and Caribbean dishes. This is done as a means of fostering cultural pride and connections, encouraging open discussion, and building community. 

The director explained that this programming was developed with extensive community consultation, and will be led by a staff member who identifies as African, Black and/or Caribbean. Alamyar says the integration of community voices during the program development was very intentional.

“We have incorporated their voices from the meals we serve to the content delivered, and keeping in mind those historical legacies,” he explained. 

TARGETED PROGRAMMING 

This programming only becomes more important when considering that 2SLGBTQ+ youth face significantly higher mental health challenges than their cisgender, heterosexual counterparts. The 2022 Mental Health and Access to Care Survey found that twenty-two per cent of 2SLGBTQ+ youth met the criteria for anxiety (compared to 5.7 per cent), 27 per cent met the criteria for a major depressive episode (versus 10 per cent), while 24 per cent reported considering suicide in the last year (compared to 5.4 per cent.)

Programming like Rise and Thrive is crucial because while having access to care is important, it’s also necessary to develop culturally comprehensive programming to care for the unique needs of diverse communities. Especially when considering a community with multiple intersecting identities, like those who are Black and queer. 

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“If you’re a Black 2SLGBTQ+ person, for one, you’re dealing with the gender [and sexual] identity issue which impacts you, and on top of that comes racism,” Alaymar explained. 

“It’s like that microaggression that kind of constantly reminds you of your dual identity or intersectional identity, and that’s very unique for Black youth. It’s a daily lived experience that they are confronted with.”

But data shows that the services people need  are lacking. Approximately 25 per cent of Black African and 15 per cent of Black Caribbean respondents to the 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan Survey Results: Black 2SLGBTQI+ Communities said they lacked access to mental health services. Meanwhile, a 2018 survey from the Mental Health Commission of Canada shows that 60 per cent of Black Canadians would be more willing to utilize available mental health services if the provider were Black. 

“What we see is really the historical legacy of racism and colonialism, and that legacy of systems and the distrust within this with the system,” Alamyar explained, adding that the organization is trying to bridge that trust through targeted programming. 

“Our goal as Sherborne health is really creating those pathways to formal support and system navigation,” Alamyar explained. 

Those interested and eligible for Rise and Thrive can register here.