RACE & Mental health

We are so excited to share with you that The New Mentality and Children’s Mental Health Ontario’s provincial Youth Action Committee (YAC) will be focusing on Race in the Mental Health System for their next policy cycle. 

About the Project 

In early 2020, the YAC met to discuss what challenges youth across the province were facing in relation to their mental health. After much discussion youth on the committee felt that there were many groups of people that were receiving inequitable mental health services. After additional discussion, the YAC decided to narrow down their broad topic of ‘equity’ to focus on how race affects mental health treatment in Ontario. As a first step, they have released a survey to hear the experiences of and amplify the voices of racialized youth age 13-25 that have accessed Child and Youth Mental Health services and those who have not due to barriers they face. 

In 2021, the YAC is focused on analyzing the data from the survey, continuing consultations with youth, and creating youth-led policy recommendations for government and service providers. 

Being racialized has always impacted the way I received services. I believe that human services and specifically mental health services shouldn’t be a “one size fits all”. I understand from my lived experience what accommodations may need to be in place to create a more inclusive system that achieves equitable outcomes for all youth across Ontario. – 2020 YAC Member 
I believe this topic is important as racialized youth are oftentimes not provided with proper mental health services for their needs. Many services in the westernized world are geared towards those of Caucasian descent and so it can be much more difficult for racialized youth to find sufficient services. – 2020 YAC Member
It is well documented that there are racial disparities within the mental health system, including the child and youth mental health system. Black, Indigenous and racialized youth face barriers to accessing quality care due to a multitude of reasons including systemic racism and a lack of culturally competent services. As a result of a lack of appropriate access to care, Black, Indigenous and racialized youth often experience poorer mental health outcomes. We recognize that there is a lot of work that needs to be done and we hope that this project can help contribute to creating positive change. – 2020 YAC Member
Advocating for health equity in the mental health system is very personal to me. I’ve understood from a first-hand perspective how individuals from a low-socioeconomic status (SES) often correlate with poorer overall health. The experiences of racialized and marginalized youth in the Ontario Child and Youth mental healthcare system (CYMH) are not adequately documented. Few studies have examined the cross-section between race and the CYMH delivery for youth in Ontario. If our goal is to create an equitable mental health system, policy-decisions must reflect and incorporate the voices and experiences of racialized and marginalized youth. – 2020 YAC Member

Acknowledgments

2020 YAC Members

Hodan Mohamud, Co-Chair
Lewis Han, Co-Chair
Victoria Kaulback
Victoria Corbett
Eric Hendrick
Nneoma Grace Achioso
Madison Suh
Gregory Doucet
Nourin Ali

2021 YAC MEMBERS

Hodan Mohamud, Chair
Eric Hendrick
Lewis Han
Nneoma Grace Achioso
Madison Suh
Gregory Doucet
Erin Park
Aditya Thakur
Alisha Sharma
Diya Mohan
Murphy-Issac Boyse
Chy (Gin) Phillips

2020 YAC Members

Hodan Mohamud, Co-Chair
Lewis Han, Co-Chair
Victoria Kaulback
Victoria Corbett
Eric Hendrick
Nneoma Grace Achioso
Madison Suh
Gregory Doucet
Nourin Ali

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