Black Resilience table tackles inequity through collaboration
Race has long been a barrier to jobs, income and opportunity, but the outbreak of COVID-19 brought this issue into hyper-focus
The message was stark. United Way’s 2004 report, “Poverty by Postal Code,” revealed what had been long suspected: Over the span of 20 years, the number of families living in poverty had doubled in specific neighbourhoods across the GTA.
And marginalized communities in the inner suburbs — specifically those that included visible minorities — were experiencing poverty rates that appeared to be increasing by the year. Communities particularly hard hit included Scarborough, North York, Etobicoke, York and East York.
The report laid bare the reality of daily life for minority and immigrant families living in these postal codes, many of whom struggled daily to keep food on the table. Perhaps most startling was the revelation that these marginalized communities were made up primarily of minority and immigrant families in much larger percentages than 20 years prior.
This year-over-year increase was not lost on United Way Greater Toronto, with its mandate to support vulnerable communities across the GTA. And in the early 2000s, the need in those communities was obvious.
Fast-forward to 2020. Sixteen years following the release of the initial report, life for so many families in the city has not improved. If anything, those living within specific areas of Toronto have had to simultaneously battle both racism and poverty in the midst of a global pandemic. COVID-19 has exposed the many inequalities that still exist, years after “Poverty by Postal Code.”
“When the ‘Poverty by Postal Code’ report was released, we identified the growing inequality in predominantly racialized communities,” says Nation Cheong, vice-president of community opportunities and mobilization at United Way Greater Toronto.
But life for those in marginalized communities — specifically Black and Indigenous people — continues to be a challenge, particularly since the start of the pandemic.
For example, Black Canadians have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, according to an August report by the Innovative Research Group in partnership with the AfricanCanadian Civic Engagement Council. The report found that Black Canadians are more likely to report symptoms of COVID-19, seek treatment or know someone who has died of the virus.
They’re also more likely to have a job that requires them to work with people face-to-face (or requires them to commute), putting them at higher risk of exposure to COVID-19. In the same vein, the majority of Black Canadians reported reduced employment hours or layoffs as a result of the pandemic, adversely affecting their family finances.
The emergence of COVID-19 has shown that the systemic inequalities borne by Black Canadians persists. “We should not take for granted that Toronto Public Health declared antiBlack racism a public health issue,” says Cheong. “People need to be having these conversations. They need to be asking, ‘Why is that?’”
Toronto Public Health started collecting data on ethno-racial identity and income related to the pandemic on May 20. At press time, the latest data showed that Black people make up 24 per cent of COVID-19 cases in Toronto, despite comprising only nine per cent of the city’s population.
The urgency of this situation led to the creation of the Black Resilience table, part of the Community Coordination Plan the City of Toronto started with United Way to address the pandemic. The plan includes 13 “cluster tables,” of which the Black Resilience table is one (there are also 10 neighbourhood-based tables, one citywide table and one bringing together Indigenous-serving agencies).
The Black Resilience table brings together some 45 local agencies to identify new and emerging issues affecting the Black community, such as food insecurity and precarious employment. Its creation was facilitated by the Network for the Advancement of Black Communities (NABC). “The focus of
the cluster was to put in place needed services and strategic, system-level co-ordination,” says Amanuel Melles, NABC’s executive director.
Meeting twice a week, the goal of the Black Resilience table is to create capacity in addressing the inequities experienced by the Black community during COVID-19. Working as a conduit, NABC facilitates change with Black-led organizations and leaders.
“The pandemic has laid bare the vulnerabilities of Black communities,” says Melles. “We challenge Black organizations to work collaboratively and to move with bold transformative initiatives that will help the community medium to long-term.”
One of those organizations making strides toward positive change within the Black community is the CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals. “We take a person-centred approach,” says Agapi Gessesse, the CEE’s executive director, citing the need for full-time social workers on staff and providing supports that are trauma-informed.
“By virtue of being Black in
Canada, young people are experiencing a certain level of trauma when they come to our door, and that could be compounded by life experiences,” she says. As a result, all of CEE’s programs are culturally informed.
“Everything is in the context of being Black in Canada,” she adds. “The type of work we do is very intense and very intentional.”
United Way has played a key role in the ongoing supports that CEE provides to Black youth. As of 2019, the organization provides 30 per cent of funding for the community resource.
“United Way was one of the first funders who understood what we were doing early on and stuck with us in the process of it all,” says Gessesse. “They understand the unique barriers that Black and Indigenous youth face and are willing to put their dollars behind it.”
For example, CEE worked with United Way to bring together a collective of 14 organizations that didn’t have charity status, resulting in the allocation of $250,000 in funds. “This was intentional on the part of
United Way to have the conversation in order to help them identify organizations and put the cohorts together,” says Gessesse.
In the age of COVID-19, this connection is key. “The rallying call is to support local leaders and to work with municipal and regional partners,” says Cheong. “It is so important to uphold the principles of equity.”
On an individual level, this is perhaps even more so. “People need social connection more than anything right now. Don’t take for granted how medicinal and healing it is to hear a loving and caring voice on the other end of the phone,” he says, citing the mental trauma that affects so many in the Black community. It is this reality that drives the United Way’s community support.
“It’s still a mental health issue that comes from historical precedence. There is the inherited trauma of those who have been the worst victims of colonialism,” says Cheong. “This is the time to care, to be courageous and reach out.”