Breaking Barriers: The Value of Culturally Responsive Support
Culturally Responsive Support defines an approach which takes into consideration the unique challenges and experiences, including unjust discriminatory and oppressive structures/practices, encountered by marginalized ethnic groups. These structures and practices become barriers affecting the economic, social, academic, and personal lives of members of these ethnic groups.
A research project conducted through Dr. Fatimah Jackson-Best (Project Manager) and Tiyondah Fante-Coleman (Researcher for the Pathways To Care Project at the Black Health Alliance), focusing on the barriers experienced by Canadian-residing Black children and youth (up to age 30 years old) found that these youth experienced barriers throughout various streams when seeking to access, for example, care (Jackson-Best & Fante-Coleman, 2020). The streams included systemic, practioner-related and personal and community-related barriers (Jackson-Best & Fante-Coleman, 2020). The following data presents what the researchers uncovered:
Systemic – “longer wait times (more than twice the wait experienced by white patients) and referral delays, geographical challenges, financial barriers to care, poor access to practitioners, and underfunding of services that are culturally responsive. Services through the criminal justice system and involuntarily hospitalization were also noted as pathways to care that were more difficult or harmful for clients.” (Jackson-Best & Fante-Coleman, 2020)
Practitioner-related – “racism, discrimination, a lack of cultural understanding from providers and organizational support to provide culturally competent care and a pronounced lack of available Black professionals in the mental healthcare sector.” (Jackson-Best & Fante-Coleman, 2020)
Personal and community-related barriers – “internalized, anticipated, and cultural stigma from community and a lack of knowledge about services.” (Jackson-Best & Fante-Coleman, 2020)
How REST Centres is Addressing Black Youth Homelessness
REST Centres is breaking, annihilating these barriers.
Now the Life Skills Supervisor at REST, previous Case Worker Marjaan McDonald noticed the lack of follow-up, inefficient progress and organizational barriers affecting the youth he worked with when referring the youth to different services in the GTA. He furthermore noted that “a lot of BIPOC youth get passed around to other organizations because they are not equipped to handle the experiences of BIPOC youth.
However, not at REST.
REST client Rasheen shared,
“I feel more safe” referring to working with REST staff who look like him as a Black youth. He adds “... we’re from the same place, like people from the same background. I feel like I can open up more.”
Furthermore, REST client Veronica, whose 2 sisters and herself were 15, 17 and 18 years old when their mother passed away and left without family, expressed,
“REST Centres is better than others [organizations] because I can talk to Black people, and I feel like I’m comfortable because that's comfortable to me.”
This is how REST Centres is making the difference through culturally responsive support.
Readily Available Resources
REST's ability to get resources to youth immediately through subsidies and connections with landlords (i.e., housing clients’ same day or week, provision of rent subsidies, grocery aids), sets REST apart from non-culturally responsive approaches and institutions. Before a challenge arises, REST has already done the work to understand the dynamics of issues and gaps within the community and therefore ready to provide clients with the help they need, when they need it most.
Staff Representation
Through strategic and intentional staff representation, BIPOC clients are able to connect with staff affiliated with their cultural background, encouraging free flow in conversation, and an effective basis for connection and mutual comfort. REST staff provide enthusiastic and well-informed support to our youth with a respect and understanding of the need for healthy independence within them. REST not only seeks to aid a youth who has already reached a breaking point, but strategically provides intervention support, such as through our FIRM program. Our FIRM programming involves the presence of REST social workers who work with families and youth who are experiencing breakdown within their relationship to avoid the risk of such youth’s homelessness.
Client-Centered Programming
Through REST Centres’ programming, BIPOC youth can receive services but also know and experience that they matter. Programming is structured in a manner that takes our clients’ perception into consideration, through methods of consultation and feedback, to assure our clients experience the impact of their thoughts, feelings and desires taken into account. These programs include RISE Above programs for BIPOC youth who join together for basketball runs and mentorship opportunities. REST programming also features a variety of workshops on self-care, home care practices, cultural, employment and academic related events.
Opportunities
REST Centres believes in the provision of wrap-around services and promoting independence, long-term stability and sustenance in our BIPOC youth. At REST, employment opportunities are just one way of supporting this objective in our youth through thoughtful and critical curation of stimulating pathways. These opportunities show up in the form of trade program connections and other forms of employment training and services. Other support includes life skills workshops, through which youth can further develop their everyday practical life habits.
How Can You Help?
We likely all know the saying “it takes a village to raise a child” but similarly, it takes a community to end homelessness for BIPOC youth. There are many ways you can get involved in our mission to address BIPOC youth homelessness with REST:
Monthly Donation
With a monthly gift of $8, you will be providing rental subsidy for youth, every day of the year.
With a monthly gift of $10, you will be providing youth with access to counselling, support services, workshops and other essential services.
With a monthly gift of $20, you will be providing groceries and basic living essentials to youth each month.
One-time Donation
Your one-time donation of $50 can provide a youth with access to workshops inclusive of financial literacy, tenant rights, self-care topics and more.
Your one-time donation of $100 can provide youth with a food hamper or grocery card through the Bare Necessities program for a 1-month of essentials.
Your one-time donation of $300 can provide rental subsidy to help youth to overcome the financial obstacles of finding a home and other supports for youth and landlords to promote a mutually safe and edifying experience.
** Please note that REST welcomes other monthly donation contributions as suitable to individual ability.
Become a Community Landlord
Through the Bridge of Hope program, you will be partnering with REST to help provide a room(s) for rent, subsequently helping to foster a stable home environment in which our youth can develop a healthy independence and thrive.
Volunteer
If you have a passion for serving your community, REST Centres is waiting to hear from you! You may reach out to our team to inquire about current or upcoming volunteer opportunities at REST. Visit https://www.restcentres.org/getinvolved, scroll down until you see the “Volunteer” section and click on “Volunteer Now”.
Become a Partner
We work closely with our partners to develop programs that support youth, amplify our mission and create mutual value through media, employee engagement and social enterprise. If you’d like to collaborate, we’d love to hear from you. Join our mission today by visiting https://www.restcentres.org/getinvolved, and clicking on “Become a Partner Today” near the end of the page.
REFERENCES:
Jackson-Best, Dr. F., & Fante-Coleman, T. (2020, October). Research snapshot: Canadian Black Children and youth face many barriers to accessing our mental healthcare system. EENet. https://kmb.camh.ca/eenet/resources/research-snapshot-canadian-black-children-and-youth-mental-health-barriers