Our statement of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement

A Message from Outrun the Stigma

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As activists for mental health and the rights of all members of society to live free from stigma and prejudice, we at Outrun the Stigma want to offer our support and solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests occurring across the world to end police brutality and systemic racism.

The horrifying murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota by officer Derek Chovin has shone a spotlight yet again on the epidemic of police brutality and systemic racism in the United States and Canada. We mourn for George, his family and friends, community members and loved ones, and for the hundreds of Black Americans and Black Canadians killed in police encounters.

Since starting our mission in 2013 as a group of students passionate about combatting stigma and supporting mental health, we have seen the incredible change and progress that is possible to create a more supportive and welcoming community. As young activists and organizers, all of our current and past members of the OTS leadership team and organizing committees have grown in our knowledge of the impacts not only of mental health stigma on members of our communities, but have also seen our perspectives and knowledge of the degree of social injustice and oppression rampant in our society grow as well.

As we have broadened our knowledge of mental health and anti-stigma work, our understanding of the impacts of systemic racism and oppression against Black Canadians, Indigenous peoples, and other racialized groups has deepened. We assert that to create a world free from mental health stigma and the oppression of people living with mental illness, we must also combat systemic racism and all forms of oppression leveraged against marginalized people. We assert that to create a society that is truly socially just, all members of our society must have their fundamental human rights respected and protected. 

We particularly want to acknowledge the increased violence that Black Canadians struggling with mental illnesses experience at the hands of police, and the failure of our existing mental health care system to provide adequate support to Black Canadians seeking mental health care. In addition to the stigma leveraged against all Canadians struggling with their mental health, Black Canadians and other racialized Canadians are forced to try to navigate a system that is often apathetic at best, and outright hostile and violent at worst. Black people in Canada and across North America experience compounded sources of mental health stigma and racism, which creates further barriers to safely accessing care. 

With the current conversations occurring on race and law enforcement, we cannot fail to recognize the alarming frequency with which Black Canadians experiencing mental distress are killed or injured during encounters with police. In a 2018 CBC report, it was found that of the over 460 Canadians who had been killed by police since 2000 a majority had suffered from mental health problems or addictions, and a majority had been Black or Indigenous. These horrifying statistics illustrate just one of the reasons that activism for mental health cannot be separated from anti-racist activism.

There is currently incredible work being done in these areas by Black Canadian activists and organizers: from organizers like Alexandria Williams (co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto) who speak out against racism and mental health stigma, to organizations like Taibu Community Health Centre, who initiated the first Black Mental Health Day in Toronto in 2020. We aim to amplify these voices and existing efforts in our work, and to listen and follow through on their calls to action. 

Today we pledge to continue and increase our support of the Black community in our work.Outrun the Stigma. We pledge to critically self-reflect on our recruitment and hiring policies to better include members of the Black community and other under-represented groups in our organization. We pledge to engage in additional consultation initiatives with members of the Black community to make our events, programs and initiatives more inclusive. We pledge to dedicate more resources towards diversity and equity training and initiatives within our team of organizers and volunteers. We pledge to increase our support and promotion of activism being done by Black Canadians and organizations.

We pledge to advocate for the need to increase the number of specialized mental health services available to Black Canadians, including community resources and Black mental health professionals. Finally, we pledge to continue to actively listen to others and aim to centre the voices of marginalized communities in our discussions on mental health and stigma. 

To our community members here in Canada and to those protesting across the world: we see you. We stand with you. Black lives matter, now and always. We encourage you to learn more about the unique struggles of Black and Indigenous Canadians in regard to racism and mental health stigma: our team has linked a list of articles and resources on our website. We encourage you to support organizations that support the Black Lives Matter movement and Black mental health.

We have listed a number of charities and organizations on our website that could benefit from your support. We will continue to update this list as we become aware of more resources. 

In solidarity, 

The Outrun the Stigma teaM

 

MORE INFORMATION ON BLM, BLACK MENTAL HEALTH, AND POLICE VIOLENCE IN CANADA.

 

Where can I Donate?

Have other charities, resources, or articles you would recommend to our team? Send them to us via Facebook, Instagram or email at outrunthestigma@gmail.com