As we continue celebrating Black History Month, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital hosted Connect the Gap—an information fair featuring Black-led community health centres and organizations providing services to Black, African and Caribbean communities.

Held on February 20, 2025, and organized by Holland Bloorview’s inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, and anti-racism (IDEAA) team, the fair provided a platform for collaboration, networking and shared learning.

“The purpose of the Connect the Gap fair was to create awareness among health-care providers about the culturally supportive resources available to Black, African and Caribbean families,” says Lorraine Thomas, manager, IDEAA. “By connecting health-care providers with community partners, we aim to enhance the quality of care and support available to these families. This initiative is part of Holland Bloorview's broader strategy to ensure that Black health and that of other equity deserving groups is prioritized and that health-care services are inclusive and equitable.”

Beyond networking, the fair also served as an opportunity to educate health-care providers about the impact of anti-Black racism in health care and disability.

“By providing a space for dialogue and collaboration, we hope to create a more inclusive health-care environment that recognizes and addresses the systemic barriers faced by Black, African and Caribbean families,” Thomas adds.

Reflections from participants:

Black Health & Social Services(BHSS) Hub

“This fair is an important network opportunity for our organization. We hope Holland Bloorview staff become aware of our hub so they can refer clients who would benefit from our services and help ensure that we reduce barriers to the services we provide.”

–Racquel Bremmer, clinical director, BHSS Hub

Women’s College Hospital (WCH)

“One of the key resources we’re sharing here is our allyship toolkit. Women’s College Hospital focuses on supporting three main equity-deserving populations: the Black community, Indigenous community and LGBTQ2S+ community. Our staff wanted a resource to help them become better allies to these communities. The toolkit is for anyone working in health care looking to improve their knowledge base and resources on allyship. We are happy to share it with Holland Bloorview staff and other organizations.”

– Sangeetha Navaratnam, director, health equity, inclusion and anti-racism, WCH

Sawubona Africentric Circle of Support

“Our group was intentionally created to meet the distinctive needs of Black parents and caregivers raising children with special needs. We connect caregivers and provide them the opportunity to connect, share experiences and access resources. This fair is an opportunity to raise awareness about our services and to build connections with other organizations.”

– Esther Guzha, system/service navigator, Sawubona: Africentric Circle of Support

EarlyON Child and Family Centres - Lamp

“We’re presenting the ‘learning and growing together’ program for Black children and families. This fair has been a great opportunity to network, share experiences, and learn from other organizations providing resources for Black children and families.”

– Dana, EarlyON Child and Family Centre, Lamp

TAIBU Community Health Centre

Jahyana Cooke and Dillon Williams, community ambassadors for Taibu Community Health Centre also participated in the fair and presented their programs. TAIBU Community Health Centre offers Black-identifying clients from throughout the Greater Toronto Area access to primary care, health promotion and disease prevention programs in a culturally affirming environment.

“We are here to promote the youth programs we offer. This is an opportunity for other organizations to come and learn about the services we offer.”

– Dillon Williams, community ambassador.

“This fair is an opportunity to build connections, share our resources and expand our network.”

– Jahyana Cooke, community ambassador.

EMBARK - Bloorview Research Institute (BRI)

“It is very important to invite community organizations to Holland Bloorview to learn about the services we provide and also learn about the work they do. This helps create opportunities for collaboration.”

– Dr. De-Lawrence Lamptey, scientist, assistant professor, Bloorview Research Institute (BRI)

“This fair has been a valuable opportunity to connect with other organizations, discover new opportunities and learn how we can support each other.”

– Sharina Nanthakumar, research assistant, BRI.

Connecting with community partners

Want to learn more about the organizations that participated in the fair? Visit the links below:

• Black Health and Social Services (BHSS) Hub
• The Black Women’s Institute for Health
• Ase Community Foundation for Black Canadians with Disabilities
• Sawubona: Africentric Circle of Support
• Women’s College Hospital
• LAMP /LAMP Early ON
• Mino Care 
• Taibu Community Health Centre
• EMBARK program (Holland Bloorview)
• Family Navigation Hub (Holland Bloorview)