Black Health Alliance Welcomes Tiyondah Fante-Coleman to the Pathways to Care Project

Tiyondah Fante-Coleman to serve as Researcher on the Pathways to Care Project

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to announce that Tiyondah Fante-Coleman will be joining the Black Health Alliance as Researcher for the Pathways to Care Project effective March 18, 2019. We are very excited about the extensive knowledge and expertise she brings to the project.

Tiyondah recently completed her MA in Community Psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University and completed her B.Sc. in Health Sciences in 2016. Passionate about social justice and health equity, her research interests include exploring access to health care, mental health, and the behavioural and cultural influences of sexuality, especially among racialized and minority populations.

Tiyondah’s master’s thesis focused on access to healthcare for African, Caribbean, and Black residents of Waterloo Region. Her work was done as part of a larger project the Adinkrahene – African, Caribbean, and Black health study a community-based research project which was conducted in partnership with the AIDS Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Area (ACCKWA). Tiyondah has also completed previous research that explored behaviours related to HIV vulnerability in youth and done work that documented the experiences of burnout and mental illness among Black women who work in the health sector.

Tiyondah’s passion for advocacy and knowledge-building is also demonstrated through her volunteer work with Stand Up for Health, an interactive workshop designed to inform policy makers and health stakeholders on the Social Determinants of Health in order to improve their understanding and to empower them to create transformational change within their respective systemic jurisdictions.

Tiyondah is very excited to join the Pathways to Care Project and can’t wait to begin the work of improving access to mental healthcare for African, Caribbean, and Black children and youth.

Please join me in welcoming Tiyondah to the Black Health Alliance.

Paul Bailey,
President,
Board of Directors

About the Pathways to Care Project:

The Pathways to Care Project aims to remove barriers and improve access to mental health and addiction services for Black children, youth and their families in Ontario by making interventions at the policy, sector, and  population levels. The project is a four-year strategic collaboration between Black Health Alliance, TAIBU Community Health Centre, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), East Metro Youth Services, and Wellesley Institute, with additional partners outside of Toronto being brought on over the next 12 months.

Through engagement with Black children, youth and their families, governments, and the mental health and addictions sector the project will:

• Conduct community based research across six Ontario cities to better understand the needs, challenges, and opportunities for change;
• Develop a comprehensive strategy to inform the sectors improvement;
• Define and improve the pathways to care for Black children and youth who need mental health and addiction services; and
• Develop resource tools and capacity building supports to increase the capacity of agencies to deliver culturally safe and responsive mental health and addiction services.