Tamar:
All right. Are we ready to ready to jump in? Yeah!

Lianne:
Let’s call in the ancestors!

Tamar:
Well, folks, I guess we’ll begin with the land acknowledgement. So as we begin these discussions today, virtually I want to acknowledge that I’m speaking to you. We are speaking together from the traditional territories of the Huron Wendat, the Haudenosaunee and the treaty lands and territory of the Mississauga’s of the Credit First Nation. All of us connecting today, across North America are residing on lands that have been the home of indigenous peoples since time immemorial and we thank them for their continued stewardship of the lands, waters and wildlife. We will continue to renew our commitment to reconciliation every day through the implementation of Finding Hope, which is Kids Help Phone’s Action Plan for supporting First Nations, Inuit and Métis young people in partnership with indigenous peoples from coast to coast to coast.

Tamar:
So friends, I am literally so honored that I get to sit and talk to you for this fireside chat, especially during Black Mental Health Week. And I was looking at this year’s theme for Black Mental Health Week which is growth and reflection which feels exactly right for our discussion around RiseUp and how we support Black youth in their communities here at Kids Help Phone this is this is such a fun opportunity to talk about something that’s really close to my heart. I know that it is something that you’re also passionate about. So I guess we can start with introductions and then we can jump right into the history of RiseUp and some of the ways that we do support Black communities across Canada and we have a couple of questions that we’ll jump into.

Tamar:
So I can start my name is Tamar Brannigan. I use they and them pronouns. I’m currently the senior manager of community here at Kids Help Phone, But in 2021, I was the manager of Black Youth and had the privilege and honor of getting to launch the RiseUp program. And I worked with the equity programs for about a year and I know Barbara that you jumped into that position while I was on mat leave. So why don’t you also introduce yourself?

Barbara:
Thank you Tamar, my name is Barbara Ukwuegbu. My pronouns are she her,  I came into KHP taking over from the work Tamar was doing. So I started at KHP in 2023 I believe, if I remember correctly, so I started in 2023, I’m the manager for Black youth initiatives. Lianne you go.

Lianne:
Sure. My name is Lianne Hannaway, my pronouns are she her hers , elle si vous parlez francais. I am a CPA by background. I’m also on the Kids Help Phone board, been on the board since about 2021. So it’s exciting to be going into my third year and in that time, I’ve been serving as a member of the Black advisory council so had the pleasure of working with Tamar and now with Barbara.

Tamar:
Thanks so much, folks. And we have just such a wealth of knowledge and experience here so I’m really excited to jump into this conversation. Kids Help Phone is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, which is just wild to think about and the work that we do and have been doing for that time has always centered around mental health. And wellness and finding ways to reach people who need that support. Make sure that we’re here for young people across the country when they need it the most. And I think that the young people who need it the most was really highlighted in May of 2020 when we saw the murder of George Floyd, we saw a huge rise in awareness around anti-Black racism and the impacts of violence against African Caribbean and Black communities. And what that does to people’s mental health. And so, of course as an organization, we immediately jumped into having conversations around how can we support Black communities across Canada? What does this mean for Black mental health and the impacts on young people? And we’re an organization that is very data-driven. We love to see the ways that these conversations happen and the themes that come up and what we noticed lacking in our data and in our services was young Black people reaching out for support. And at a time where that support is so critical where we knew that people needed help. But weren’t coming to us for it.

We wondered, as a national organization, why aren’t our people reaching out and I think that really spurred us to, to really dig into our commitment for serving Black youth and for centering them and making sure that we’re an organization that is here for them and that they know that we’re here, we’re celebrating them. We’re welcoming them we’re inviting them into our space because the need is so high. So that’s kind of where RiseUp began. And before we even envisioned what the program looks like today because Barbara, I know that you’re going to talk so much about where we’ve come in these past four years since 2020. We really had to sit and ask ourselves some questions. What will bring Black youth into our service? How do we make sure that we’re accessible? That the work that we do is inclusive? That we have the knowledge base to really support people who are you know, vulnerable and who have a unique community, a unique culture and history and especially who have really profound experiences in mental health spaces that are not necessarily meant for them.

How do we become that place where they do feel like they’re being centered and where they belong? And so that started with doing focus groups with young people. I was very, very privileged to be able to sit with young people and ask them, young Black people specifically, what does mental health mean to you? Where do you get support in your communities? What are you seeing lacking in communities? Where do we come in right, what would make you reach out to an organization like this and what are the barriers that you see?

And we had very, very generous responses where they told us about, you know, experiences of not necessarily feeling as though they were able to have these conversations openly. There was a lot of stigma in Black communities. There is a lot of stigma in Black communities around talking about mental health. There is a pressure on young people to you know, not admit when they need help. And they need spaces to recognize that and recognize the specific barriers that they’re facing. We also ended up partnering with the Students Commission of Canada in 2021, who were able to bring hundreds of Black youth from across Canada and people who support Black youth and ask them the same questions. What do you need? What would make a service accessible to you? How can we change and pivot to make sure that Kids Help Phone is a space where you can feel safe and you can feel brave enough to open up about something so vulnerable and they came to us with find different barriers that we could address in order to make Kids Help Phone a safer place for Black youth.

The barriers look like a lack of awareness of services. A lot of young people just didn’t know that we exist. Kids Help Phone wasn’t a resource that was coming up in schools or for parents, or amongst friends. There was a lot of fear and distrust around accessing mental health supports. Is this going to be a place that accepts them, that understands their communities that understands their experiences of mental health and how that intersects with anti-Black racism? There is also a lot of misinformation around what it actually looks like to get support what it looks like to talk to a counsellor, or even to a crisis responder. I think that we have a lot of depictions of mental health care of therapy out there in the world or media in lots of different spaces, but we rarely see Black people in those spaces. So there’s just not that reflection. of them there. And of course, systemic racism is a thing. And it’s very scary to reach out for mental health support, when there’s an additional layer that there is a potential for violence on the other end of that so those were the real significant barriers that came up in this research. And it was what enabled us to be able to create something called the Action Plan for Black youth and start envisioning how we can put together programming put together steps in learning and education, not just for this single singular equities department at Kids Help Phone which does incredible work, but for the entire organization.

How can we make sure all of the staff all of the counselors, the crisis responders are feel ready to welcome Black youth into the space and show up as their full selves to support them knowing that they have the competence, the knowledge to be able to do that, to be able to ask the right questions and to be able to hold space for them. So that was that was kind of the beginning the genesis of it. And I was really proud to be able to begin that work and I felt so confident handing it over to Barbara, knowing your expertise, knowing you’re passionate for everything that’s to come. And of course we had this magnificent Black Advisory Council who supported the work across the way which Leanne I’m sure you’ll speak to in some of these questions that will come up. So I guess first, just to get a little bit of context about where where we’ve been and where we’re going. The first question that I’ll ask is, what is the impact of anti-Black racism on the Black community? And particularly on Black youth? And what are we learning at Kids Help Phone about these things?

Barbara:
Thank you, Tamar. Thank you for giving us the background on the work that we’ve been doing. Before and what that would look like and how that will teach us. Moving forward. To your question, what’s the impact of anti-Black racism in Black communities and what are we learning from the survey that we did that you have talked about? So the focus group, when we engaged with the Black youth, they had highlighted how anti-Black racism is a barrier to them accessing and approaching mental health services. So we know that anti-Black racism is a significant barrier when Black youth are trying to connect for mental health and wellness support. Many Black youth have expressed that when they reach out for mental health support they face discrimination microaggression. They also highlighted how past experiences of being dismissed by service providers has affected how they access mental health support and just how they approach it as well. We know that there’s a true fear in encountering racial biases from professionals when they reach out for support because of that understanding that we have learned from that focus group and just hearing feedback from Black youths in general. It affected how we actually drafted the Action Plan and all the commitments that we want to make for Black youths. So in order for us to address anti-Black racism in KHP’s work, we have to understand and acknowledge that anti-Black racism exists. First, KHP data shows us that young people connecting with us about racism are some of the most distressed texters, second only to those experiencing harm in their homes. So what does that tell us? That tells us that before we even go into talking about support, we have to address all of those barriers that they face first, in terms of accessibility and approachability. Before we can go ahead and provide support. So that data actually told us the best approach to how we would provide support for Black youths.

Tamar:
Thank you so much. And I love the intentionality that goes into it and making sure that we have the data there and making sure that it’s led by Black young people, and that their voices are what drives the work forward and that it’s coming from people with lived experience, of course, right. And Barbara, I wonder if you can actually share we’re talking so much about anti-Black racism, but I’m wondering if you can actually share, what does that mean specifically?

Barbara:
That’s a very good question. I would say I feel like to me, I’m talking about it in general terms. I feel like anti-Black racism is microaggression that Black youth would face. It’s like discrimination. And conversations, it’s in the tone. And sometimes it’s often even subtle and you go home and then you think about it and you’re like, oh, this just happened to me. And it’s something that just, I feel like it’s a layer that follows the experience as a Black person.

Lianne:
Yeah, you know, I would add to that, that it’s that feeling of never feeling like you belong, you know, or someone saying something to you, that makes you all of a sudden, believe that you are different somehow but you never thought you were but someone makes you recognize that you know, as someone who was born in Canada, but with roots in like the Caribbean roots that go all the way back to Africa, because I did do a DNA test and found out which peoples I come from on the African continent. You’re always still asked that question, particularly as someone who identifies as Black as Where are you from? And that’s always the question that makes you really question your belonging, especially as a young person, I would say now, as an older person, I could steadfastly say that I am Canadian, as an example would be very happy to say that I’m Canadian, but as a young person, as a youth, when you’re still really trying to figure yourself out. I think moments of anti-Black racism you encounter makes you really think, hey, where do I belong? And, you know, to just question that, I think is a really a hard thing for a young person. So I’m not surprised that one of the big issues that folks reach out to Kids Help Phone about is incidents of discrimination.

Tamar:
Lianne I love that you mentioned belonging here, right. One of the big themes and issues that young people reach out to us about is isolation and that’s something that we really want to combat. We want to make sure that this is a place of belonging, right. People see themselves reflected here. And I actually think that’s a really nice segue into our next question, which is that Black youth often feel like they’re not included, or that they don’t belong in historically white spaces. What does it mean to design intentional services and programs that invite and celebrate Black community at Kids Help Phone

Barbara:
that’s a very good question. From lived experience and from feedback of people from African diaspora, We know that often systems that Black youths engage with are rarely built with them in mind, and they’re rarely built with a cultural specific lens. So most of the time when they reach out to services, they feel other’ed, and they feel excluded because these systems do not think of them as their culture and think of all of those cultural aspect of, what makes you, you, in terms of how those programs are created. So I feel like that was very important in the work that we were planning to do with RiseUp. so we’ve learned that in order to design, intentional spaces and programs, we have to be community led and community informed through feedbacks from Black youth through the Black Advisory Council in partnership even with Black organizations. To initiate new partnerships and outreach programs. I feel like often when people do the work of providing support for Black youth, they often exclude, grassroots organizations that already started doing the work and the knowledge that they’ve brought on from that work. And I, with the RiseUp Action Plan, one thing that we’ve incorporated is actually partnerships with all of the grassroots organizations because we know that KHP doesn’t know everything, and it’s important for us to tap into the Black community and work with them directly to provide supports for Black youth.

For instance, in 2023, we reached out to 6000 plus Black youth through outreach materials. Yeah. And we have connected with over 200 plus Black organizations and I feel like that shows KHP’s dedication to partnering with Black organizations. Also making sure that we’re learning from each other like we’re working together as a community, KHP is not isolated. Right, and that informs a lot of the work we do and I feel like that’s very intentional in how we designed the work as well. We also launched WeRise so it’s an engagement program for Black youths 15 years and over. And that program was built because we wanted to hear directly from Black youth about the programs that we’re developing. We didn’t want to just create a program for Black youth that are not informed by Black youth. Because we’ve heard from that feedback and survey that Black youth, they want to be part of all of the intricacies of building a program for them.

They don’t want to be outsiders looking in they actually want to be at the decision-making table, which is why the programs like WeRise is very important, because it speaks to that inclusion of Black youths in all of the steps we’re making in creating a program for them by them as well. We also created specific keywords for Black youth to access support, because we know that we want Black youth to feel empowered. And when Black kids feel like there is space created for them. There’s that spirit of comfort. There’s that spirit of this is home, this is home for me, and I feel like that keyword, Rise, feels like oh this is for us. This is a space for Black youth. This is something I can connect to. One of the things we also did was making sure that all of our crisis responders and everybody at KHP took trainings that made them culturally competent to understand places that Black kids are coming from and to be able to address needs and provide supports for Black users. Culturally informed and culturally led.

So we have the courageous conversation training that all KHP employees actually take and I feel that’s very important because it speaks to how important it is to understand Black youth and to understand culture and how that plays a role in belonging and inclusion. And in creating programs that we would probably say are for Black youth

Lianne:
You know, I realized off the top I didn’t say some of the work that I’m doing outside of KHP but I belong to a B3 organization, So Black led, Black serving, Black focused, at the Black Business and Professional Association. We really work on advancing Black communities through employment through entrepreneurship, as well as through education. And I just really wanted to highlight some of the things that Barbara said that I think really resonate with our mission, you know, and that’s that collaborative approach. You know, not trying to reinvent the wheel that there are communities out there that are serving Black communities. So how can KHP really connect with them and understand how we can amplify as opposed to duplicate and water down I think it’s so important. One of our really great programs is our scholarship and our mentorship program.

And this is really addressing, you know, the access to higher education and when you think about higher education, if you’re worried about how much you need to pay, you know, if you’re supporting people back home, or you know, there’s a lot of other things to worry about if we can not only provide, you know, a scholarship, financial support that allows the student to really concentrate on their books, which will lead to further payoffs in terms of employment in terms of, you know, their wealth and like their well being their overall well being. But not to just think about the money but also just really think about the mentorship and I know in particular around concerns for young people is the decision and what school to go to or how they’re doing in school and there’s a lot of mental health, you know, challenges around a lot of those decisions that they feel will impact the rest of their lives.

So how do we work collaboratively to make sure that like we’re addressing those particular needs, and yes, there are needs of Black youth but they’re, they’re also needs of, of all youth across Canada. So just really highlighting, you know, being that collective, you know, being collaborative, and being community based to really address what some of those needs are, because chances are those needs impact more than just one community it impacts more than one community. And then yeah, just and also the culturally relevant piece of it, I think is so so important. You know, Black people aren’t, you know, a monolith. But we do have some strides that really connect us all together. So what are those different organizations? I think there’s over 85 different Black organizations that KHP is reaching out to, all with their unique focus on different aspects. of the diaspora, that they have a central person, a central group to come to, or at least to tap on for support, I think is is so important, and really a testament to the work that KHP is doing.

Barbara:
Lianne,  thank you for highlighting your work, I feel like as a Black Advisory Council, bringing that expertise and that knowledge and even given us a background of the work you do, tells us a lot about the importance of Black leadership with the BAC and how that is very instrumental in the work of partnerships and in working with other Black organizations and not just spotlighting ourselves like KHP as the lead in the world. So thank you for giving us that background because I think that speaks to the importance of having Black leadership at the forefront of the work we’re doing at KHP.

Lianne:
I would definitely double down on that if I’m okay to keep going, Tamar, on that. I think with Black leadership, one of the things we do is we center, we center those that are the most excluded the most marginalized in the work that we do, understanding that by centering those folks that we are actually going to help everybody but it’s really important that we look to those that are most in need in order to really come up with the most innovative ways of serving that that group. I know some of the work that we’re doing with the WeRise program is also based on the indigenous program, you know, Finding Hope, and, you know, part of my learning of being on the board as a part of that outreach, our texting service was created, you know, and you know, there was a decision, do we do this texting service? Which was crucial to particularly Inuit populations and populations that didn’t necessarily have the phone infrastructure that the rest of Canada had, but based on that innovation and addressing a most marginalized and needed population came innovation. Innovation that not only helps indigenous youth but helps all the youth across Canada. So really just thinking about who we’re centering when we’re solving problems, I think is so key and having them leave a voice on how they want to be served. is also very, very key.

Tamar:
My like face lit up when you mentioned this, and it’s something that I love so much about focusing on communities that have historically been marginalized, is that we were able to get this beautiful Trickle Up effect of course, right. When we center Black youth Black communities. When we center solidarity between Black and indigenous communities. We give ourselves these opportunities to be able to grow our empathy, to be able to think about new types of solutions to think of like new answers to old problems, and I think it’s the innovation that comes out of it is so important and so beautiful. And we wouldn’t be able to do that unless we had Black people in our spaces unless we had leadership from different groups. I would love to know a little bit more about the Black Advisory Council and what that has looked like who’s on it, what kind of work do you do, how is it structured?

Barbara:
I can speak to, who is on it and what kind of structure we have. So the Black Advisory Council comprises of 12 African, Caribbean and Black youth, Black leaders, I won’t say youth, Black leaders across Canada with impressive like personal and professional experience, like Lianne had mentioned, and the reason for creating that leadership group, is because we wanted KHP to be able to evaluate its work. We wanted Black people to be the ones evaluating that work of RiseUp.

So that’s the important work that they do. So they provide guidance on how we even drafted the RiseUp Action Plan. They were the ones that led that work. They were the ones that led the work of the rebrand of RiseUp last year. In terms of colors. In terms of having this bold red and green look. I feel like that resonates with like a lot of African diaspora. They were very, they were very opinionated being like, Okay, this color does not work. And this is the colors that we think when Black people actually look at it. It feels like oh, this is for me. It feels representative of African roots, or like African diaspora roots. So I feel like that’s the very important work that Black Advisory Council is doing. They are guiding the work that we’re doing. They’re assessing the work that we’re doing to make sure that we’re actually doing all of these commitments that we say we’re going to do and they’re bringing their own expertise as well and contributing to our network of partners and helping us make sure that we’re solving the problem of eliminating anti-Black racism and we’re solving the problem of eliminating barriers that Black youths face you know, when they access mental health support.

Lianne:
I’ve very much enjoyed being a part of the Black Advisory Council and I do that as a, you know, a representative on the board. So I’m another member there’s not really a hierarchy there. I don’t identify as a youth, you know, even when you know all this, but I don’t identify as a youth but, you know, I love that we cede space to those voices to come in and talk about what they really like and what they don’t like and what is actually the voice of talking to Black youth like what does that sound like? What does that look like? What does that feel like? Which I think is really important. You know, the council was really instrumental in making some decisions around the images of, you know, who we see represented in the brand of RiseUp, you know, we have folks from all different hues, all different melanin, you know, size shape, you know, and very targeted to make sure that people can see themselves represented in the images. You know, as Barbara said about the colors, you know, there’s always some very distinct colors when it comes to representing Black organizations, and KHP wanted to stand out you know, much like we do with our Feel Out Loud campaign. This RiseUp campaign really stands out as well. I love the imaging and you know, I’ve been waiting for the swag so I definitely want some of the swag to carry about. And you know, that feeling like what did we really want folks to feel, you know, and we wanted them to feel like this is a place where not only can you come but we’re also looking for you too, you know, and you could be a part of it as well too.

Barbara:
Yeah, I also feel like the Black Advisory Council provides like a safe space where like Black people can actually give their opinions and like not just give it but like, also have that opinion implemented in like the work that we do. I feel like it’s just the impact of Black leadership. Just because I feel like often Black people are not like allowed that space to give their opinions freely or safely. And often when like you say things nobody’s listening, but I feel like with the Black Advisory Council, it’s also a space where like, we are listening, it’s a safe space where we’re also listening. And it’s also like holding us accountable as well. So it’s not just like, oh, this is my opinion, but like how are you actually like utilizing these opinions that we’re constantly giving? And I feel like that space creates like room for like accountability as well.

Tamar:
Lianne,  earlier you mentioned the importance of mentorship. And I think one of the things that I love about seeing a Black Advisory Council and seeing leadership of Black people at Kids Help Phone is that young people are able to see like themselves in positions of power and being able to lead and know that their voice has has so much impact and that there’s power behind it. So I think yeah, there’s so much strength behind having an advisory council behind having Black leadership throughout the organization in different different roles. And I think we only grow stronger as we as we have more of that. Kids Help Phone is going on 35 years of impact and RiseUp is going to be a part of that, you know, into the future and beyond. We’ve seen a lot of evolution in the programs at Kids Help Phone, a lot of innovation and the ways we pivot as an organization to support equity-deserving communities from coast to coast to coast, to make sure that we’re meeting their needs. I’m curious, what are some of the aspirations for the future and when it comes to RiseUp, and what does it mean to be supporting mental health? The mental health and well being of Black youth in the years to come?

Barbara:
One of the aspirations that I have and I feel like the Action Plan also like commits to is creating a safe space where Black youth can reach out. When we did the survey or the focus group in 2022, there were a lot of like, we heard back from Black kids that they didn’t have safe spaces. So we want to create safe spaces where Black youth can access mental health support. We also want to enhance service delivery and just make sure that the services that we’re providing is culturally led and culturally informed. We don’t want Black youths to just access services that they don’t feel like they feel seen. We want them to come in and like feel included. So we have to change how we deliver our services. So I feel like that’s something that we’re looking towards in the future. Just like shaking things up and changing how we actually deliver services and making sure that like the services that we have moving forward, they resonate with Black youth as well. I think another aspiration that we have is also like partnering with communities. I feel like for me, I want to see us like partner more with a lot of more Black organizations because that’s something I’m very passionate about. I feel like we need to like often amplify the work that Black organizations are doing especially Black small organizations. And I think that part of my aspiration too, is for us to collaborate and work with Black organizations to amplify that work and to learn from that work and to butte up our strengths. So I feel like that’s my that’s my aspiration.

Lianne:
Yeah I love that. I really love that. I mean, I will I will link the work that you know, KHP is doing with some of the work that I’m doing with the Black business and professional association or BBPA. Like I said we do a lot of work when it comes to education, particularly around youth and mentorship. You know, what are the linkages and the capabilities that we can help foster and we can help build you know that resiliency that mental health literacy, you know, Black people, Black youth and particularly in employment and an entrepreneurship face many other barriers than just, you know, capital, seeking capital. You know, to feel that what they have to offer is of value and of equal value. And that they can be included in those major decisions. A lot of that work that we do, we need the support of organizations like KHP to make sure that our young people who are coming up, have that sense right off the bat, you know, and have that sense of feeling valued and it’s not that we have to help rebuild. You know, those reflexes and those confidences in the work that they do, and that we help support them to do. So, you know, I think it’s really I think it’s really good to just really partner. I am so you know, in awe of, of young people, particularly Black youth, and you know, my dream for them has always been that, you know, just the sheer fact that they’re breathing, they are valued, they are worthy, they are loved and just to really make sure that as we are serving Black communities and Black youth that we are instilling that view in them, you know, 100% No doubt, you know? Yeah, because that will really just lead to better communities and a better Canada.

Tamar:
Thank you so much. Both of you, Barbara, I can see that you have you have more to say.

Barbara:
Yeah I wanted to add in terms of being valued is also part of my aspiration is that Black understanding, people are nuanced. as well. And Black people also belong to like, different factions, like we have Black 2SLGBTQ+ people, we have Black people who are unhoused. So like also understanding that Black people are not a monolith. And like there’s no homogeneous like Black group, and doing the work of like understanding those other groups that are inclusive of like all Black people. I feel like that’s part of my aspiration is making sure that all of those voices too, are included in the work that we do like RiseUp. And making sure that we’re always like highlighting those voices of like Black people generally like Black people across the board, and not just like a certain type of Black people.

Tamar:
Thank you so much. Folks at eliminating anti-Black racism in Canadian society and building equitable services. In E mental health requires commitment at the individual level and the collective level. We’ve heard today specific examples of how the RiseUp program is closing service gaps as it relates to Black youth and is providing greater access to services. So as we reflect on the conversation today, what role would you say that each of us has in bringing to life that RiseUp Action Plan?

Barbara:
I feel like Lianne wants to go. Go ahead.

Lianne:
No I wanted to leave the leave it with you, like so to just, you know, just say really, you know, I think what we should really do or what I’m really committed to doing, either individually or through my organization is really bringing awareness to what KHP is doing particularly for Black youth. You know, speaking its name in every reach, you know, making sure people know that the services that are offered here to Black communities and Black youth are positive services, they’re intentional services that are designed to meet the needs of the full diaspora, the full beauty of Black people. So I mean, that’s definitely something I am 100% committed to doing either individually or through my organization.

Barbara:
As the program manager. I feel like my commitment is just making sure that the RiseUp Action Plan that we have drafted we actually committed to do that work and seeing that work through. For me, like increasing like awareness, amplifying like the services and just making sure that like, Black voices are to be heard throughout like the levels of KHP. I feel like that’s my work that I want to champion. I want to make sure that we’re actually doing the work that we say that we’re doing but I also wants to like, kind of invite everybody at KHP and beyond, to also like, participate in the journey of like eliminating anti-Black racism. I feel like often Black people are burdened with the work, Black people are often asked to do the work. And I feel like we exist in a world with other people. And those people have to also like work with us together to do the work. Because it’s unfair to like to keep having to do the work. So even as a manager and like as somebody who’s on the backend, I feel like everybody has their own role to play and like no role is too small. And I feel like it’s very, very important to make sure that like we’re not just leaning on Black people to correct the system that we didn’t even like create. We actually like working together as a community to do that work and to keep on like that connection. And to empower everybody as well. To do that work and to take on that journey like with us as as we’re doing it.

Tamar:
Thank you, both of you. And I can say for myself, I have the unique position of being able to work with the volunteers, the crisis responders that support the texters that come in. I get to see some of those conversations and for me I am so committed to like witnessing and honoring those stories when they come through, those conversations that happen and ensuring that that whenever anybody reaches out but particularly Black folks, that they they have an experience that feels supportive, where they feel inspired to reach out again or to be somebody now for someone else in their community that they can reach out to that they walk away from Kids Help Phone feeling stronger feeling maybe like more resilient, more healed, and able to be a support for others in their communities and their lives.

Friends, thank you so much for this for this wonderful conversation. Thank you for sharing your insights for sharing your knowledge and your experiences. This is really important work it’s really critical work and I think that like Kids Help Phone is in such an incredible position to be able to to lead this work and to also show up for our partners show up for the Black lead organizations, Black youth and their communities. And we don’t have to be all things but we can definitely be a touch point that gets people to the right place for them. There is more information is specifically for Black youth about our RiseUp program at KidsHelpPhone.ca/rise.

Barbara, you mentioned that the WeRise program is newly launched, is there a way for people to find out more about that?

Barbara:
Yes on the website as well, so at KidsHelpPhone.ca/rise, it provides like information on like the WeRise volunteer program as well.

Tamar:
Thank you. I also just want to let folks know that our volunteer crisis responder program is looking for applicants and so if you are somebody who’s interested in learning more about supporting others doing crisis support, please check it out. Their applications are open. And it is at 24/7 service across Canada. For young people and their communities where you can learn how to how to be that person that people reach out to

Barbara:
You actually reminded me to shout that we’re also recruiting for the WeRise program as well. So we’re recruiting like 15+, so 15 and above youth, so it’s like for WeRise you have to identify as either African Black or Caribbean. So we’re looking for like we were looking for volunteers. So yeah. Thank you for reminding me to do that.

Tamar:
Of course! Yeah, there’s space for people here. And for people who might be interested in reaching out for support the 686868 is a the number that you can text into and if you’re a Black, African Caribbean or Black person, using the keyword Rise, will be the best way to get in touch. Thank you so much, everyone. And Leah I can see that you’re you were just about to-

Lianne:
I was just gonna say you can also text Sur Monte, Sur Monte en francais to also get access to those services so Rise, or Sur Monte

Tamar:
Thank you so much. Friends, this is it. That’s a wrap.