Our Vision

Productive futures for Canada’s children and youth.

Our Mission

Primary prevention of social, psychological breakdown in communities through a focus on education, health and community development.

Our Values

RESPECT
Respect for the inherent worth of each person regardless of their opportunities and challenges.

EDUCATION
Education as a key foundation for positive citizenship and success in life. Our resultant belief is that ‘no child’ or “youth” should be excluded or dismissed from our schools.

HEALTH
Opportunities for each person to maintain optimal health including barrier-free access to appropriate, professional, mainstream mental health assessment and treatment.

September 1992

Black Youth Helpline Manitoba launched by community volunteers. Lessons learned in Manitoba formed the basis for establishment of the Black Youth Helpline in Ontario.

March 2003

Black Youth Helpline established in Ontario.

The origin of the Black Youth Helpline model was created by youth for youth as follows:

In response to a community-based project assignment at their school and supported by their courageous teacher, Black Youth in Winnipeg, Manitoba decided that their project would be to outreach into shopping malls and to the streets encouraging out of school youth to return to school. They developed a flyer called “Black Hand to Black Hand” and tirelessly distributed these to disconnected youth.

With the success of their project came new challenges: Youth identified the need to add the name and phone number of a professional “adult resource” to their flyer, a person youth could call for help and support. They approached a Registered Nurse, a Jamaican woman, active in the community and who readily responded: “of course you can!”  Little did she know about the journey on which this seemingly innocent ask would take her.

Once she had agreed to her name and phone number being listed in the flyer, this Nurse following her work days came home to excessive calls and messages from youth seeking support. Suddenly, “mother of many children” as she is repeatedly referenced. In one example, the Winnipeg Police Service picked up a 14 year old male at about 1:30 am and asked him for his parents. The young boy promptly provided the name and phone number. The police called and this nurse went out and substituted as the “caring mother.” The resultant relationship was later described by this young man as the intervention that changed his life.

Weeks later and the level of calls to her home phone continued to increase. Inspired by the voices of youth seeking supports and aware of the problems confronting Black youth especially lessons out of Ontario, this Nurse called on professionals, parents and community leaders in the City of Winnipeg. The resultant efforts led to establishment of Black Youth Helpline, Manitoba.

Patterns of calls to the Helpline (voices of participants) informed the specific programs & services that ultimately flowed from the Helpline. In Manitoba, schools (Teachers, guidance counsellors) were the initial major users of the service diligently seeking out culturally relevant input to help address the needs of their student populations. Youth and parents followed with “problems in schools” identified as their key issue. The Stay-In-School Program became the key focus in that province.  Currently, families, parents, youth, schools and other service organizations are the key users of the service. The issues are more complex and include:

1) Challenges in schools and significant gaps in professional, culturally relevant school-based supports

2) Significant mental health stresses and problems

3) Barriers of access to professional, mainstream mental health assessment & treatment before situations reach crisis proportion

That is, historically, the voices of participants have and continue to shape BYH program direction.

Now Canada-wide! The story of the Black Youth Helpline is grounded in two (2) core foundations:

1) The resilience of a community and its volunteers and

2) A country (Canada), its peoples and values. A country which in 1971 became the first globally to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy.

Olga Semple, PhD, RN, Chairperson

Pastor Akinkumni, Director

Omar Rambhajan, B.A., LL.B., LL.M., Director

Damian Smith, Director

Doreen Warmington, Director

Barbara Thompson, RN, BN, MEd, Founder/National Lead