About Us
Our core project management team brings both professional expertise and lived experience. We are single parents, sole income earners, former foster caregivers, and individuals who have had personal connections with child welfare and the criminal justice system. We understand the realities our communities face—because we’ve lived them.
We know that…
Black youth are disproportionately impacted by the child welfare system. They are more likely to be placed in care, remain there longer, and later become involved with the criminal justice system.
In education, Black youth face a wide range of challenges: lower high school graduation rates, underrepresentation among teachers and mentors, higher rates of suspensions and expulsions, and early labeling of behavioral issues—sometimes starting in kindergarten. They’re also more likely to be pushed out of French Immersion and academic streams.
As parents, many of us lacked access to culturally relevant parenting tools and strategies that could have supported us in our roles. Instead, we faced bias, discrimination, and anti-Black racism that compounded our stress, deepened race-based trauma, and created systemic barriers to success.
Our History
The Kujenga Family Wellness Project was launched in 2019 to support Black parents, caregivers, and guardians facing challenges within the child welfare, mental health, education, and criminal justice systems. In Durham Region, Black families and youth often encounter high levels of anti-Black racism and both implicit and explicit bias when accessing community resources.
The Kujenga Wellness Project was created to empower parents with the knowledge and resources needed to support their families effectively. Since its inception, Kujenga has helped thousands of Black families, hosted more than 50 webinars and support groups, and provided essential relief programs.
In 2020, Kujenga introduced the Kujali Black Family Support Line—the first phone support line of its kind—offering direct outreach and guidance to parents in need of immediate assistance. Since then, the Kujali line has answered hundreds of calls, connecting families with vital supports such as food banks, housing, legal and immigration services, and education system navigation.
In 2023, Kujenga held its first Annual Fair, featuring over 20 community service vendors, guest speakers, Indigenous and Africentric ceremonial openings, and cultural performances by youth. The fair also celebrated and supported Black-owned businesses and youth entrepreneurs.
The Kujenga Wellness Project is proudly supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Carea Community Health Centre, and works in partnership with numerous organizations across Durham Region.
OUR PILLARS
As a Black-led organization, we strive to build pillars rooted in our history, the culture, and the people.
- Aboriginal status
- Disability
- Early life
- Education
- Employment and working conditions
- Food insecurity
- Health services
- Gender and gender identity
- Housing
- Income and income distribution
- Race
- Sexual orientation
- Social exclusion
- Social safety net
- Unemployment and job security
Family
Our family may consist of our birth family, or the family we adopted in our lives. Our family unit may often serve as the foundation of our identity and our home. Black families incorporate family to include kin, neighbor, friend, and relative. We have a duty and responsibility to our community to care for our family unit, and respond to their need, even when it means sacrificing ourselves. At Kujenga, we understand family, and we promote and support you to build a healthy family foundation.
Building Community
The Black community has endured centuries of racism, slavery segregation, inequality, and systemic racism. But still we rise. Our story never started with hatred and brutality, our story began with creation of the world. Our community is strong, resourceful, resilient and purposeful. We acknowledge the impact of anti-Black racism upon our lives. We actively seek and advocate for equity. We work towards reducing barriers in our own practice, and seek inclusive and equitable outcomes for our community members.
Social Justice
Three words: #Black Lives Matter. Our Lives Matter. We will relentlessly advocate for equities in health, income, education, social systems, mental health, employment, food, and working conditions.
Advocacy
A community that comes together, marches together, and builds changes together. Advocacy is a collaborative process to achieve the best outcomes for the family, the community and our nation.
Education
There are many ways our education system creates inequity for our children, leading to poorer outcomes in school. We hope to support parents and children navigate systemic oppression, and advocate for their needs within the classroom, the school and the Board. We will offer educational options that enhances representation and cultural knowledge.
Mental Health
Our mental health matters! We were told that Black people are strong because we have endured so much, and are still standing. We were told that crazy defined people who were weak. Those people just needed Jesus and allowed Satan to win. Let. Us. Unpack. Let’s redefine mental health, normalize mental unwellness, and reduce the stigma. Through Kujenga, we will provide supports that will address healing mental health and raising consideration for how we can incorporate mental wellness into our lives, our families, and communities.
Health
The social determinants of health impact the quality of an individual’s life, their outcomes, any barriers to their success, and life expectancy. According to the Canadian for Mental Health Association (CMHA), the social determinants of health include:
Black individuals and families have a higher risk and experience barriers in achieving many of these determinants of health. Through navigation services and information, Kujenga will support families and individuals to access the support they require and improve their overall outcomes.
Goals, Needs & Outcomes
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.
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.
Key Outcomes
- Build our community’s capacity to access resources with a navigation line, online resources library, and wellness fair.
- Promote educational workshops geared to build our community capacity to support their families and their lives.
- Provide supportive groups, counseling, and outreach to promote healing and improve mental well-being.