Health Equity and Anti-Black Racism
Our vision
The City of Toronto's Board of Health, along with various agencies and organizations across Canada, has officially declared Anti-Black Racism (ABR) a public health crisis. To tackle the negative impact of ABR on the wellbeing and healthcare experiences of Black communities, the West Toronto and Mississauga Ontario Health Teams have partnered to establish the Ontario Health Team (OHT) Anti-Black Racism (ABR) Touchpoint Working Group, focusing on embedding health equity across all areas of planning within both OHTs and their member organizations.
What we’ve done
An ABR Organizational Self-Assessment Survey was completed in November 2022 and was designed to support health and social service organizations with identifying their current state, capacity, and opportunities to meaningfully address ABR.
The survey was conducted among 20 organizations across West Toronto and Mississauga. The Institute for Better Health was brought on as an equitable third party to analyze the responses and develop the reports.
Following the report, the West Toronto and Mississauga OHTs have hired a dedicated lead (hosted by LAMP Community Health Centre) that will be focusing on supporting this work, including the set-up of a collaborative space for those who have done the survey, and further develop action plans to support OHT member organizations and combat ABR.
Additionally, in November 2022, a virtual training series was also developed in partnership with the Kojo Institute for member organization staff to complete. Understanding that education is a cornerstone to reducing anti-Black racism, further ABR training has been developed.
Complete the following Organizational Self-Assessment Survey to help the Mississauga OHT, West Toronto OHT, and their partners understand and address issues related to ABR, and identify challenges and opportunities, strengthen collaboration, and support health equity.
What we’re doing
Recognizing that impact happens most at the ground-level, a series of guides and materials and initiatives are currently being worked on that can be implemented across our member organizations.
An ABR policy template has been developed to provide organizations with a guide for how to embed policy and practices that recognize and address anti-Black racism internally to equitably address the needs of Black staff and clients.
The policy establishes procedures and practices to ensure all levels of staff are collectively responsible for the organization they work for to build a sustaining workplace environment and culture that is free from anti-Black racism and all other forms of discrimination and harassment.
A participatory training series has been designed to increase the capacity of staff in recognizing, understanding, and addressing the legacy of ABR within the local context. Through this series of six, three-hour modules, participants will examine ABR from a Canadian lens, and learn the history of oppression, and resistance. Sessions are designed to be applied at work and in everyday life and are interactive allowing participants to review core concepts, view related media, and engage in conversations that encourage peer learning.
Affinity Spaces where Black staff can come together and connect. Topics are picked relating to Black lives and experiences and are held on a monthly basis.
OHT ABR Learning Network exists to support and guide the work being done. The Learning Network offers support to members and Black staff in addressing ABR through periodic check-ins; collectively developing work/action plans/ encourage networking and collaboration among member organizations; and share resources and information related to ABR including training and education opportunities.
Community-based research is currently being conducted focusing on Black mental health using mixed-methods, including surveys, interviews, and focus groups to ensure the community’s voices are heard and is included with the data. The research aims to provide recommendations of a holistic, client-centred care to rectify historical research practices that failed to prioritize the needs and voices of Black communities.