Mental Health Needs and Service Standards for Black Children and Youth
Access Alliance is embarking on an important Community-based Research (CBR) project with African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) communities – From Policing to Public Health: A Data-Driven Framework for Culturally Concordant Mental Health and Non-Carceral Crisis Response for children and youth in Toronto.
Led by the Director of the Research Department, AKM Alamgir, PhD, and Gemechu Abeshu, PhD, Research Operations, this initiative seeks to better understand the current assets, needs, and concerns of ACB children and youth in Ontario. The project aims to develop evidence-based recommendations for culturally responsive and community-anchored mental health care models that can improve the well-being and quality of life of Black children and youth.
Background
For Black Canadians, anti-Black racism serves as a critical social determinant of health. It is essential to engage in deliberate and sustained efforts to achieve health equity for Black communities in health planning. For example, diabetes prevalence has increased significantly among younger adults in Canada, with Black individuals disproportionately affected and experiencing worse complications. Recent research that we have conducted highlights the importance of targeted approaches to Black health equity.
Additional research also shows that some members of Toronto’s Black communities who identify as having African and/or Caribbean ancestry may have limited knowledge of health promotion activities, relying primarily on healthcare providers and social networks for information. In that work, ACB community members emphasized health awareness, advocacy, sensitivity, and autonomy as priority areas for health promotion. This project will continue some of that research, prioritizing community knowledge about available services, identifying needs, assets, and addressing challenges in healthcare system navigation.
We will generate community- and expert-informed, real-time evidence in a CBR approach involving community, service providers, funders, and relevant literature to understand current needs, concerns, assets, and supports that work. We will consult with experts and community members to recommend a future state that is tangible, efficient, and acceptable to the community to improve their quality of life, all grounded in an equity perspective.
Project goals
- Co-generate evidence on the current mental health status of Black children and youth compared to the non-Black residents in Toronto, the availability of culturally sensitive mental health professionals, and their needs.
- Gather in-depth insights (Focus Groups and interviews) from Black children/their caregivers, and youth with diverse intersectional identities to develop a future model that ensures tangible improvement in Black Mental Health.
- Promote sustainability, the project will build the capacity of Black scholars in the community to conduct ethical research and realist evaluation in future
The research will gather qualitative insights directly from youth, caregivers, and service providers while also mapping existing mental health services. We will also conduct an environmental scan of current programs and research related to Black youth mental health. Findings will be validated through an expert and community consultation session and disseminated through reports and peer-reviewed publications.
Our approach – from evidence informed current state to future state
This project is a collaborative community-based research initiative led by Access Alliance in partnership with two Toronto-based Community Health Centres to examine the mental health needs of African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) children and youth:
Access Alliance will lead this mixed-methods CBR initiative following the Collaborative Evidence Generation approach. We will conduct quantitative data collection from databases and grey reports. Focus group discussions will be done to generate qualitative evidence, along with key informant interviews. An arts-based approach may be used for children. The data we collect will be triangulated using a collaborative approach; validated and built upon with the community through a World Café meeting.
We will work with our CHC partners to create a Toronto Black Mental Health Research Collaborative. We will co-generate evidence on the current mental health status of Black children and youth compared to non-Black residents in Toronto, the availability of culturally sensitive mental health professionals, and their needs. Together, we will identify and map culturally sensitive mental health providers across Toronto and survey Black youth regarding their specific non-crisis emergency needs.
The collaborative group of CHCs will gather in-depth insights (Focus Groups and interviews) from Black children/their caregivers, and youth with diverse intersectional identities to develop a future model that ensures tangible improvement in Black Mental Health.
Core Roles of Partner Agencies
Our partners bring essential insight, access, and strengths to this work, including working as:
- Knowledge Brokers: Agencies often act as the “middleman” between academic researchers and the community. They translate complex data into actionable insights and ensure the research findings reach the people who can use them.
- Gatekeepers and Facilitators: Because they have established relationships, partner agencies provide researchers with access to specific populations, sites, or historical data that would otherwise be difficult to reach.
- Co-Designers: Rather than just being “sites” for study, active partners help shape the research questions to ensure they address practical, local needs rather than just theoretical gaps.
- Resource Providers: This includes “in-kind” support such as office space, staff time, existing datasets, or specialized equipment necessary for the project’s success.
- Ethical Stewards: They ensure the research respects the cultural norms and privacy of the participants, acting as an extra layer of protection for the community’s interests.
By centering Black voices in research participation, interpretation, and leadership, the project strengthens long-term community capacity to shape future health systems.
Over the next 6 months, we will generate community-driven evidence to inform culturally safe and consistent mental health responses and alternatives to prison-related crisis intervention for Black children and youth. Our peer-research model ensures that trained Black peer researchers will conduct interviews and focus groups within their communities. They will be supported by Access Alliance research staff and partner organizations. A peer-research approach intentionally strengthens the capacity of Black scholars and peer researchers to conduct community research and evaluation in the future.
Community centred
Anti-Black racism is a social determinant of health. Black health equity requires deliberate, targeted, community-informed approaches to mental health and crisis response. Community-based research recognizes that lived experience is a critical source of knowledge and works to ensure research reflects community realities and priorities. We see research as a powerful social tool not just for better understanding the world, but also for creating a better world that is more equitable, fair, and just. Our research priorities, projects, and activities are guided by the values and principles relevance, rigor, quality, ethical practice, and positive impact. In a project like this, we strive to understand root/systemic causes and social determinants of poor health outcomes and inequities in ways that can inform upstream and long-term solutions.
As we move forward with the work, we will share what we learn and resources we identify. Among some of our plans are to establish a Toronto Black Mental Health Research Collaborative, starting with our CHC partners on this project, and inviting and engaging with existing Black Mental Health researchers and organizations, such as the Black Health Alliance, TAIBU, and others. A Black Community Advisory Board (CAB) will serve as the moral and strategic compass of the project. We hope to identify and map culturally sensitive mental health providers across Toronto and survey Black youth regarding their specific non-crisis emergency needs, co-develop a community-led crisis response protocol, and make specific policy recommendations and roadmaps for implementation with Ontario Health and the City of Toronto.
A peer researcher will lead this project. Peer researchers are people who conduct formal studies or evaluations within a community or demographic of which they are a direct member. By leveraging their lived experience and established trust, they bridge the gap between academic theory and the nuanced realities of the group being studied. This collaborative approach ensures that the research process remains ethically grounded, culturally relevant, and focused on outcomes that genuinely benefit the participants.
A Black Community Advisory Board (CAB) will serve as the moral and strategic compass of the project. Working closely with our Peer Researcher, we will co-develop a “Community-Led Crisis Response Protocol” that integrates community health nurses and peer workers.
What does this look like in practice?
A CAB brings:
- Cultural Translation: Advisers vet research materials (surveys, interview guides, and flyers) to ensure the language is accessible, respectful, and free of academic jargon that might alienate participants.
- Ethical Oversight: Beyond formal institutional boards, advisers act as a “community conscience.” They identify potential risks to the community’s reputation or well-being that an outside researcher might overlook.
- Strategic Recruitment: They provide guidance on the best ways to reach “hidden” or skeptical populations, often vouching for the project’s integrity to build initial trust.
- Data Interpretation: When results come in, advisers help explain why certain trends might be appearing, providing the social and historical context that raw numbers cannot show.
- Advocacy: Once the study is complete, advisers often lead the charge in using the findings to lobby for policy changes or new community services
To promote sustainability, the project will build the capacity of Black scholars in the community to conduct ethical research and realist evaluation in future.
We will share our progress as the project moves forward. Stay tuned!