Supporting Black Canadian Mental Health [July 11, 2023, 5:30pm, Black Cultural Centre]
Via the Health Association of African Canadians (HAAC):
Join HAAC for a community conversation about supporting Black mental health.
The session will be hosted by HAAC and Stepped Care Solutions to gather input from community members and organizations that serve the needs of Black Canadians. The aim is to better understand how Wellness Together Canada (WTC) can improve access to virtual resources, supports, and services and integrate Afrocentric approaches to mental health on WTC.
Date: July 11, 2023
Time: 5:30 – 7:30
Place: The Black Cultural Centre
10 Cherry Brook Rd,
Cherry Brook, NS
Please register at the link below:
(Check back for the updated link)
A meal will be provided and there will be a draw for gift cards for those in attendance.
The Health Association of African Canadians (HAAC) was formed in 2000 to address African Canadian health issues and the system inequities affecting health. Prompting the formation of HAAC was a project was sponsored by the Dalhousie School of Nursing and the Atlantic Center of Excellence for Women’s Health. The project focused on women’s health but stakeholders quickly acknowledged that women’s health could not be examined in isolation. Thus, HAAC was formed with the understanding that women’s health was a subset of the health of the entire family. Today, HAAC has a broad mandate and ready to implement a business plan with the goals, objectives and deliverables to meet its needs.
Vision: Thriving, healthy African Canadian Communities in Nova Scotia.
Mission: to promote and improve the health of African Canadians in Nova Scotia through community engagement, education, policy recommendations, partnerships and research participation.
The Mandate of the organization is to:
- Increase awareness about health issues in Nova Scotia;
- Increase representation of People of African Descent across all levels of the NS health system;
- Advocate for and promote the implementation of health system data with race, ethnicity, language and other diversity identifiers;
- Increase research productivity;
- Increase community education and advocacy;
- Promote dissemination of research findings to wide audiences including community members, researchers and the various levels of government;
- Develop strategic partnerships to build community capacity;
- Inform policy development and make recommendations for health system policy change and action;
- Build a strong and sustainable internal structure; and
- Identify and apply lessons learned locally informed by systemic cultural competence
The current governance structure for the organization includes an executive committee composed of 5 members. The executive committee reports to a board. The board has the initial 5 executive members plus 6 additional members. The board, in turn, reports to the membership at large.
Our Commitment
We are committed to:
- increasing awareness about Black health issues
- promoting research on Black health
- working with partners to improve health care delivery to Black communities
- being an advocate for evidenced-based policies relevant to Black health
- developing strategic partnerships to build and fulfill our vision and mission
- using a culturally competent approach in our work
Our Activities
Over the years we have been involved in several projects including:
- Black Women’s health
- Diabetes and Youth
- HIV/AIDS
- Sickle Cell Anemia
- Ujima Health Fair
