Our core project management team are professionals, but also single parents, sole income earners of their household, previous foster caregivers, connected with child welfare, with the criminal justice system, and more. We know that:

Our Black youth are more likely to have experience with child welfare system, remain in care longer than youth from other backgrounds, and become involved with the criminal justice system.

Our Black youth have diverse experiences in the education system, which include: less likely to graduate high school, not represented by teachers, not mentored by teachers or guidance counselors, increased likelihood for involvement in expulsion system or suspensions, increased likelihood to have behavioral difficulties stemming from kindergarten, and more likely to be “pushed” out of French Immersion and academic streams.

As parents, we did not have access to and knowledge of appropriate parenting tools and strategies that can enhance our experiences & support our role. Instead, we experienced biases, discrimination, and anti-Black racism that increased our levels of stress, race trauma, and systemic barriers.

Kujenga Wellness Project

is a three-year project that addresses the following key outcomes:

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Priority Needs:

• Parents and caregivers impacted by systemic racism in the educational system
• Parents, community members and youth impacted by community violence (i.e. gangs, unsafe neighborhoods), and interpersonal violence (i.e. intimate partner violence).
• Parents, community members, and youth feeling hopeless, disconnected and isolated from COVID-19, systemic racism
• Community members impacted due to mental health concerns that stem from intergenerational trauma, race trauma, grief/loss, relationship stress, mental health disorders, family conflict and more.
• Community members impacted by financial stressors and income barriers due to limited access, systemic racism, poverty, and more.
• Parents and youth negatively impacted by involvement with systems such as, child-welfare, the criminal justice system, and education penal system.

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Key Goals:

• Promote healthier families
• Improving access to culturally-informed resources to meet their family’s needs
• Strategies to address conflict within the family
• Access to mental health and similar resources to community members’ success and positive outcomes
• Supports that reduce community members’ isolation within the community

Our Activities:

• Navigation system for Durham Region, including an answering machine service and soft transfers (direct link to community members to resource).
• Educational Webinars and Workshops (online) on topics such as: financial literacy, mental wellness, navigating the school system, managing criminal involvement in the justice system, mentorship, therapeutic interventions and more.
• Workshops: in-person meetings for community members in community spaces sponsored by Kujenga Wellness Project
• Support groups & psychotherapy for community members (both online and in-person) on such topics: SNAP (R), Healthy Moms and Dads, Grief/Loss, Depression and Anxiety, Mentorship, Healing Trauma, Black parents united, youth empowerment groups, and so much more.
• Kujenga supported: Equity Conference (for professionals support Black and equity-seeking communities), Wellness Fair (for Black and equity-seeking community members), Gala (showcasing excellence in Black & equity-seeking communities).