NIA Community Education and Professional Path Program

This project fits within the African Canadian Development and Prevention Network’s (ACDPN) mandate of ensuring access to health and social services for English-speaking Black Community (ESBC) in Montreal. One of the long-term objectives of this project is to increase the number of English-speaking Black professionals within the public health and social services network. Over time, this growth in representation will result in increased access to effective interventions that are adapted to the unique needs of the ESBC both culturally and linguistically. As a double minority community, the lack of availability of English services as well as the absence of cultural comfort leads to limitations in access that can negatively impact the health and vitality of the community as a whole.

The activities described in this project are part of a comprehensive strategy to bridge the gap between the public health network and the community members that they serve:

Support English-speaking Black students who are pursuing post-secondary studies in health and social services;

Promote careers in the health and social services sectors with high school and CEGEP students and Produce a health and social services career booklet every two years ;

Improve second language skills and facilitate opportunities for exchange on cultural and history to bridge the gap between the ESBC and the public health network;

Increase the representation of the English-speaking Black community within the public health network, create and maintain a database to track the trajectory of English-speaking Black students and graduates studying in the Health and Social Services field to offer mentorship, internships and employment opportunities, produce an annual list of prospective graduates and students studying in the health and social services field, distribute list to potential employers within the community and public network who offer health and social services, and produce an annual “Special Edition” of ACDPN newsletter focused on health and social services ;

Share best practices, host a symposium to disseminate findings and results and share best practices of the project, and produce a final project report.