Black Mental Health Week is a time to reflect, amplify voices, and take action toward improving mental health care for Black communities. Systemic barriers, stigma, and a lack of culturally responsive support have long made it difficult for Black individuals to access the mental health resources they need. However, advocacy and lived experiences continue to drive change.
To highlight the importance of Black mental health, we spoke with three CAMH Engage volunteers—Anaya Boucaud, Radz Mpofu, and Jessica Ugiagbe —who are using their voices to push for awareness, support, and meaningful change. Their stories shed light on the gaps that exist, the progress being made, and the power of community in fostering healing.
Anaya’s Story: Advocating for the Support She Once Needed
What inspired you to get involved in mental health advocacy?
I’ve been involved in mental health awareness for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I was the “mom friend”—always checking in on people and speaking up for those who needed it. To this day, there are people who first knew me as “Mama” rather than Anaya.
As a teenager, I experienced intimate partner violence for years and felt completely alone. I didn’t have the language to describe what I was going through, and I struggled to find support that reflected my experiences or the culture I grew up in. That realization pushed me to challenge the gaps in mental health advocacy. I wanted other young Black girls to feel seen, supported, and inspired to challenge things, too.
My advocacy is both personal and communal, and it’s always evolving.
What’s one moment in your mental health journey that made you feel seen, supported, or empowered?
What community-led mental health initiatives have made a real difference in the Black community?
What gives you hope for the future of Black mental health?
Radz’s Story: Between Two Exits, Fighting His Mind for His Life
What inspired you to get involved in mental health advocacy?
I have struggled with mental health throughout my life but went undiagnosed until shortly after my 30th birthday. At the time, I had just experienced my first tech startup exit when PagerDuty went public on the NYSE in 2019. Immediately after, I entered the darkest chapter of my life.
Within a year and a half, I experienced financial ruin, homelessness, being an inpatient at CAMH, incarceration, suicidal ideation, and my first journey through the Canadian legal and justice system. All of this happened during COVID and the resurgence of the BLM movement, following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Regis Korchinski-Paquet.
I was diagnosed on the same day as my niece’s first birthday—July 11, 2019. Coming out on the other side of that experience, I now manage a sales team in AI, sit as a board director at CAMH, and have gone through my second startup exit. Now, I want to give back.
What’s one moment in your mental health journey that made you feel seen, supported, or empowered?
What community-led mental health initiatives have you seen make a real difference in the Black community, whether through advocacy, solutions, or representation?
What gives you hope for the future of Black mental health?
Jessica’s Story: Breaking the Silence Around Black Mental Health
What inspired you to get involved in mental health advocacy?
Mental health advocacy has always been a personal passion. I’ve seen close relatives struggle, and witnessing the impact on both the individual and those around them made me realize how urgent this issue is. People face mental health challenges every day, and they deserve access to support.
What’s one moment in your mental health journey that made you feel seen, supported, or empowered?
What community-led mental health initiatives have you seen make a real difference in the Black community, whether through advocacy, solutions, or representation?
What gives you hope for the future of Black mental health?
Black Mental Health Support at CAMH
CAMH offers a range of services designed specifically to support Black communities in accessing culturally responsive mental health care. Programs like the Substance Use Service for Black Communities (SUS-BC) provide specialized care, while the CAMH Black Staff Network advocates for greater representation and inclusion within the mental health system.
By addressing stigma, increasing access to care, and fostering open conversations, initiatives like these play a crucial role in advancing Black mental health.
For more information on CAMH’s Black mental health resources, visit here.
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