Member Kaamraan
MemberForum Replies Created
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I agree with you Mike that centering voices of Black youth is very important especially in designing pathways to inclusion in the youth sector. I really like your point recognizing individual strengths, needs and comfort levels when describing to have options for different channels of communication and ways to express their ideas!
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We can draw on the research findings on mental health to highlight and challenge the impact of anti-Black racism on youth and families such as higher levels anxiety, severe depression and anger as well as more vulnerable to develop anxiety and trauma related disorders. Alongside the research demonstrates heightened negative psychological stress response, increased physiological stress response, hyper vigilance and increased participation in unhealthy behaviours for Black youth and families. We can also see Black families losing more of their children through crime, incarceration and child welfare systems.
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Amazing playlist! My favourites: Changes, Rise Up and Preach 🙂
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To center the wellbeing of Black youth and families in my work I can engage in critical self-reflection and leverage power and privilege. Creating a safe space will be important in allowing for their story to be heard and share their knowledge by “being the expert”. When working with Black youth and families I can ask how they would like to be worked with and continue to build a trusting and collaborative rapport. In our agency I believe we need to look at ways to form allyship and be mindful of using a trauma informed lens when working with Black youth and families.
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Thank you so much for sharing this playlist! There are so many good ones to choose just one. The ones I have on repeat at the moment are 20 10 20, Changes, Rise Up and Brown Skin Girl!
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I feel like Anti-Black Racism is still a problem in Ontario because not many people realize how we have been set to think the Eurocentric way. When some are blinded by it, we don’t realize the harm it is doing. Some may not realize or even know how deep Anti- Black Racism is routed. Until we start having those conversations and making active change, this will continue to be a problem in Ontario. We have to recognize that it has to start with the system. We have to acknowledge the barriers and allow Black voices to be heard. Until Ontarians are willing to have Black voices be heard and allow for change to occur in the system, this will continue to be a problem. There has to be a way to allow Black voices to be heard and where we can be an ally, that doesn’t create more harm.
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In my opinion, centering the voices of Black youth is key, and paying them for their hard work and insight. I would suggest including honoraria for youth from the very beginning of applying for funding, and making sure there is enough to pay the youth well, at least living wage, if not more. This makes it more likely that youth will be able to participate. If possible, consider hiring youth leaders for more than just one-off sessions. Once you have a group of youth leaders, invest a lot of time in developing a relationship with them, and creating a space that permits them to speak frankly, withouth fear of any kind of backlash or fragility from program staff. Offer multiple channels for feedback. If the youth have some constructive feedback to give, they may not feel comfortable giving it directly to the person, so they should know of other channels, such as alternate staff, or supervisors, and should be able to give feedback in multiple formats, like texting, voice messaging, etc. Program staff should also actively seek out feedback, especially constructive feedback, using models like “the sandwich”, asking youth to share one thing they like, one thing they don’t like, and one idea they have, or something to that effect. You can also get creative, and have youth express their ideas in other ways, like painting, music, etc. The more we allow youth to express themselves freely when expressing their thoughts, feelings and hopes about our programming, the better we can meet their needs, and move beyond a deficit-based model, to a place where Black youth thrive. That’s just what I think, though.
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I believe one simple thing that I can do is to create and open and safe space for Black youth to share their stories and have their voices be heard. Allowing them to use their voice is the beginning of empowering them.
One thing our organization can do is to see how we can better address systemic barriers that Black youth are continuing to face, how can we address it in our programs specifically. Using the information and knowledge that was shared in this course, we can take a look and see what changes we can make to better serve Black youth and families.
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There is quite a lot that we can see from the research and see where the gaps are. We have to be aware on how the system has been a barrier. From there acknowledge the gaps and listen to how the youth would like your help. We have to challenge things that are known to be a barrier and we can use the research to help us in that. What is important is turn this from paper to action. From the lectures that were provided, it’s important to create an open and safe space for youth and their families. From there, I believe this will allow service providers to create a trusting and hopefully a positive relationship with them. As it was mentioned in one of the lectures, one size does not fit all and it is important to understand that every person has their own unique story and experience.
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This was the first time I heard “If I had a Son” by Ruth B. Such a touching song. All the music was great! Thanks for sharing the playlist.
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I am a huge proponent on knowledge translation and mobilization. While the research may exist, there needs to be ways to roll out findings and implement best-practices. To me, we need to do better at moving from knowledge to action when it comes to what we know and have known for a long time regarding the health outcomes of Black youth. One research finding that has stuck with me and that I have already used in my work from this program was the fact that black youth are more likely to enter the mental health care system through the (in)justice system via police involvement. The way I used this was I positioned this stat as a way to not only showcase injustice, but also inefficiency resulting in more complex care needs (using the masters tools to dismantle the masters system here!).
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One thing I can do today is to continue advocating for the collection of disaggregated race based data in my organizations policing systems, mental health care systems and in our education system.
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This a big one on my list too, and really trying to find resources about the collection part of the process. Our org is about to re-enroll over 9,000 new and returning members after covid restrictions lift and it’s an opportunity we could use to do this work, so I’m working on that process.
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After completing the lectures, the use of research could be used to highlight the impact of ABR as there is an over-representation of Black youth within the criminal justice system. From the view of a new youth worker, this would vastly impact communities, families, reinforce already rooted systemic racism, and the mental health of the youth. I do not directly work with Black youth, but recognize from this certificate the change and re-structuring within systems that needs to happen.
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As a current student I do not work with Black Youth, as I am not currently working in the field. I took this course to try and expand my knowledge before entering. Upon reading the other answers and completing the lectures, there seems to be an emphasis on how to foster safe space and recognize personal bias that would alter ones way with working with a Black youth.
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Found many new favourites on this playlist! Also had the chance to revisit some old favourites. My new favourite has to be 20 10 20 by Burna Boy. Thanks for sharing the playlist.
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In my opinion, anti-Black racism is still a problem in Ontario due to the societal and institutional racism as well as the microaggressions, biases and white supremacy that continue to exist in our society. Reiterating the data mentioned in the module such as higher rates of Black unemployment, discrimination in employment/promotions in Black employees and the Black community is 20 times more likely to be killed by police, also demonstrates why it is a significant problem.
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I’ve seen a lot of excellent responses to this question and I’m going to add to these ideas by saying that shifting away from service needs and towards pathways of inclusion doesn’t necessarily mean that we need to reinvent the wheel. There has been a ton of phenomenal research that analyses Black youth well-being and some of this research actually included Black youth in the process.
I think the next step in this process begins by analyzing how these concepts and frameworks apply to Black youth in Ontario. From this research, which undoubtedly should include Black youth in the research process, we can gain an understanding of the gaps in services for Black youth wellbeing. It is at this point that we should include Black youth in the developmental process for whatever the next steps may be.
Also, I think it’s important to ask Black youth how they want to be included. With each generation comes strong leaders who are capable of sharing their opinions for what they would like to see changed in this world.
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I really agree with your point on how it needs to be black youth themselves being involved in the developing phase, as they know their experiences and themselves more than anyone. Gaining that perspective from different generations will definitely give insight on many different ways to change the world.
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It was so great to see you, Mehret! 😄
The speakers were incredibly engaging and inspiring – I learned so much. ❤
I really liked your idea of encouraging conversations like that to continue in this space. This discussion thread could be a place to start, or we could create one that explores a variety of intersections in the Critical Youth Work CoP.
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Well said Sean!
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These are great! 😃
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Agreed! Education being such an important factor in our everyday lives, it should be taken into more consideration to revise in order to include the TRUE historical facts of Canada and the topics relating to black youth and families.
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Fantastic insight! Not only do these services need to be created/developed, they need to become accessible to the community. There may be many services and programs out there that can provide the support that our Black Youth need, yet their pushed under the rug and/or impossible to access within these communities.
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Hello, Chantel
Thank you so much for liking my comments! Yes, I think the service can develop through a co-designed program between practitioners and Black youth!
Thank you,
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Definitely, it would very much benefit various programs if the mentalities were shifted away from an Eurocentric belief. It starts with our younger generations. Institutions such as schools have such an important influence on our youth, so implementing anti-racism courses and better educating the teachers on what subjects/topics to touch on would definitely provide a better pathway to understanding and inclusion.
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Hi Jane and Lisa,
I completely agree with you! When we truly listen to what someone else’s experience was, that is their time to share their stories. We can do more harm when we start to compare lives and it becomes ineffective for the youth. When others share their stories and experiences, we have to take a step back and listen. Like you said Lisa, everyone’s journey will look different and what is important is that we allow a safe space for the youth to create a journey for themselves.
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Thank you, Kathe! 👏 For anyone who is interested in sharing info from this factsheet, check out the Insta-friendly images I shared by clicking on the Photos or Albums tabs!
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Thanks for sharing this factsheet, Uzo!
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Great question, Chantal! I’m also curious to hear how folks are addressing stigma in their practice, especially as it pertains to intersecting identities. This piece about the Black Queer Youth initiative identifies stigma as a major challenge for Black youth who identify as LGBTQ2S, along with racism and exclusion.
