Racialized communities face more barriers when trying to access mental health services as compared to other people groups because of obstacles such as stigma, lack of accessibility, and non-culturally appropriate care. According to Sabrina Ladha, Vice-President of GreenShield Cares, 60 per cent of youth in Canada are unable to get the care they need—signaling the shortcomings in the country’s mental health system.

Ladha explained that their new mental health initiative concerns the health and well-being of equity-seeking and underserved communities. She said when looking at racialized individuals, there is a significant need in terms of the most urgent health challenges, which is the intention behind their plan.

“For us, it is focused on size, priority population, one being racialized individuals, people of colour, Black, Indigenous people, women, youth between 15 and 29, and low-income workers. So that is the focus of GreenShield Cares, why we exist, and why we operate,” Ladha said to the CONTACT.

A report by Statistics Canada shows that Black, immigrants, 2SLGBTQI+, racialized, or Indigenous people experience more discrimination in Canada. Mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and chronic stress are correlated with experiencing racism and discrimination.

Ladha said GreenShield has partnerships to support the Black community in Montreal. They have collaborated with Black Women’s Institute for Health, Black Health Alliance, l’Initiative sur la santé mentale étudiante en enseignement supérieur (ISMÉ) Quebec, where they are  investing in Station SME and École nationale de l’humour (ÉNH). She said they learn about the organization’s mandate and who the leaders are with time. While building their partnerships, they bring their capabilities together and thoroughly think about how they will solve problems and what solutions there are.

Ladha explained that it is not only about what GreenShield understands about mental health barriers among racialized youth. It is also about organizations that have been working with young people who understand the challenges they face for a long time.

“We don’t make any assumptions ourselves. We have those conversations and rely on those doing the work way longer than us. So it very much is a listening and learning journey for us and then looking at the data and mental health rates over time,” Ladha said.

She added that culturally sensitive and culturally appropriate services are crucial, and through feedback in their women’s mental health initiative, Black Canadians and Black women specifically felt that when it is culturally relevant, that is when it resonates.

“We know well in advance that different populations need different solutions, and we get to build those solutions from the beginning with partners. We don’t build them ourselves,” Ladha said. “And this is the beauty of it: we bring our Black therapists to the table. We bring Black youth within our communities, and we bring in community partners who have been doing this work for a very long time and have access and reach.”

Ladha explained that some of the main themes from their interviews with Black youth and the organizations they have worked with is the lack of accessibility and the services not being culturally appropriate; people do not know where to find their services nor understand what they are.

“We’re trying to normalize the conversation starting with anxiety and depression and all of those things; they’re normal, and all of us feel it, regardless of what background or cultural procreation,” Ladha said.

One of the key findings from Mental Health Canada’s The State of Youth Mental Health Canada report highlights that anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation rates are increasing. They are disturbingly prevalent in particularly marginalized groups such as 2SLGBTQI+ communities, immigrants and Indigenous youth.

“We create a solution that understands the diverse needs of the communities so that all youth, regardless of their background or circumstance, have access to support their needs and their thriving,” Ladha said.

Information on GreenShield’s various resources can be found on their website:https://www.greenshield.ca/en-ca/cares