On May 3, at the Paul-Émile-Lépine community center, the Association des personnes d'origine africaine et caribéenne de Vaudreuil-Soulanges et de Beauharnois-Salaberry (APOAC) celebrated the completion of a project that will enable and facilitate follow-up for members of these communities who are experiencing mental health problems, an extremely taboo subject for these groups.

The C'est bon pour le moral gala brought together APOAC members, as well as all those who have directly or indirectly made this project possible, for a festive evening featuring cocktails, kiosks, words of wisdom, dinner, a dance show, the unveiling of the Mental Health / Afro-Caribbean capsules, a draw and a few dance steps to round off the evening.

"That evening, everyone was received at the same level, majestically, there was really a positive aura around everyone on May 3," describes the director.

Breaking down the cultural barriers surrounding mental health

Through the Fonds de développement des communautés (FDC) and a call for tenders from the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, a project to raise awareness and connect mental health organizations and APOAC communities was launched, with a $45,000 grant. This was in August 2023.

In August, APOAC raised awareness and recruited partners, and the video clips were shot in November.

The C'est bon pour le moral project aimed to produce 6 video clips, each 3 minutes long, highlighting the experiences of a person from the African and Caribbean community living with a mental health problem. "The first edition of this project (Ms. Rousseau would like to see others) featured the experiences of five women who really laid themselves bare, and with whom a real bond of trust was established," says Ms. Rousseau.

"In fact, these video vignettes are not intended for the general public, but are a working and training tool for mental health organizations in Vaudreuil-Soulanges and Beauharnois-Salaberry. They were produced by CSUR la télé, Vaudreuil-Soulanges' community television station. The video vignettes will be presented in work sessions to the staff of Arc-en-Ciel and Le Tournant, to help them understand the reality of the target communities, to enable them to approach them with sensitivity, and to understand their issues and fragilities," explains Ms. Rousseau.

APOAC, via its director Nathalyrmène Rousseau, admits: "if mental health remains a taboo, despite the great efforts of recent years, for the Quebec population as a whole, it's worse for our communities; we're just not allowed to talk about it or simply say we need help; it's a sign of weakness".

Unfortunately, what follows from this, she explains, "is that it will take a situation that has become uncontrollable for the person to be led, or almost forced, to ask for help". And that's certainly not ideal.

"It's complex, says Ms. Rousseau, we want to make services accessible, we want to enable mental health organizations to reach our communities, but people from APOAC communities are not necessarily represented in these organizations; that's the first barrier to overcome.

The APOAC director continues: "We have received the support of the MRC, Desjardins Vaudreuil-Soulanges and the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion, as well as that of all the political players in Vaudreuil-Soulanges and Beauharnois-Salaberry. We would like to thank them".

A survey conducted by Public Health Canada showed that 45% of visible minority respondents did not know where to look for help, compared to 28% of non-visible minority respondents. In addition, the Mental Health Commission of Canada reported that 60% of Afro-Caribbean Canadians would trust a health care professional more if he or she were black.