About the project

Black communities in Canada face documented persistent barriers to equitable substance use treatment. These barriers manifest as anti-Black racism, stigma, and gaps in provider knowledge and skills on culturally affirming care which limits access to prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support.

Anti-Black racism is a significant factor in the negative health and social outcomes Black communities experience in Canada. Current literature states that substance use among African, Caribbean, and Black individuals varies depending on the substance used. Black men and Canadian-born individuals report higher substance use in general, with external factors such as experiences of everyday racial discrimination and systemic racism acting as drivers of substance use. However, religion, resilience, family and community support, culturally tailored interventions, and early prevention programs appear as protective factors. Black families may also encounter social stigma related to substance use in existing services, which prevents Black individuals from seeking help and substance use programs from meeting the needs of intersecting identities, specifically those of women, youth, and gender-diverse individuals. Existing services also tend to be disease-focused rather than participatory, family-centered, trauma-informed or ani-racist, with harm reduction practices remaining undersourced.

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This project draws on research, community knowledge, and lived experience to increase access to evidence-based substance use services by equipping health and social service professionals with the tools and skills needed to better support Black community members in the area of substance use.

Through a comprehensive approach, this project is expected to train healthcare providers across Canada through workshops, resources, and webinars by:

• Conducting a national needs assessments with Black patients, providers, and community partners to identify service gaps and guide training content.

• Providing access to the Black Health Primer, which builds foundational knowledge in anti-Black racism and culturally affirming care.

• Delivering in-person workshops in specific provinces to engage providers in relevant discussions surrounding anti-Black racism within substance use.

• Delivering a webinar series and creating new substance use-focused tools to provide context-specific learning on substance use prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.

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FLOURISH (Fostering Learning Opportunities for Understanding and Reducing Inequities in Substance Use and Health in Black Communities) aims to address this gap by increasing the capacity of healthcare and social service providers to deliver equitable, anti-racist substance use care to Black Canadian communities.