15 | This Week | Thursday, March 24,2022 durham region.com durham.ca/BuyItEatIt Get creative with leftovers. Buy it. Eat it. Don't waste it. If you require this information in an accessible format, please contact 1-800-667-5671. Space provided through partnership between industry and Ontario municipalities to support waste diversion programs. A new program is giving Black families in Durham fast, free access to culturally relevant mental health and community supports. Durham Family and Cultural Centre -- formerly called Side by Side Family Centre -- recently launched the new Family and Community Outreach Program. The goal is to help families navigate complicated systems like education, child welfare and the justice system. "Members of the Black community are often overrepresented in these systems and often we see ineffective services and ineffective supports and that's why we're trying to fill this growing need," says Evander Cobbold, family and community outreach worker at Durham Family and Cultural Centre. The program, which is funded by the province in response to the Black Youth Action Plan, includes counselling, parenting supports and case management. "We walk the family through and look at the holistic piece -- we also have other in-house services that can be a wraparound for the family," explains executive director Debbie Miles-Senior. For example, Together We Are is a free, four-week program offered several times a year where parents and children ages six to 11 can discuss anti-Black racism, support each other and learn about self-care. Cobbold says the new Family and Community Outreach Program is unique in several ways. Supports are free, access is quick -- usually within a week of being re- ferred -- and there is a focus on connecting clients with professionals who understand their lived experience. "Oftentimes members of the Black community in Durham, when they are able to access mental health services, they are often connected to mental health professionals who may not understand their unique and culturally specific situations," Cobbold says. "That's why our program is important. Clients are able to access a Black mental health professional who has the personal experience and the knowledge and background to provide culturally relevant services." Durham Family and Cultural Centre is a non-profit located in Ajax and focused on empowering Black families and those from other diverse or racialized groups. In 2021, the centre created a student and family advocate position, designed to help Black families dealing with school issues ranging from anti-Black racism to students who need an individual education plan (IEP). The centre also hosts community events such as a recent information evening to help parents prepare for their child's report card, a food drive and a virtual Black History Month celebration.A virtual Black Mental Health and Wellness Workshop is taking place March 10 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. NEW PROGRAM CONNECTS BLACK FAMILIES IN DURHAM WITH FAST, FREE, CULTURALLY RELEVANT SUPPORTS Evander Cobbold is a family and community outreach worker at Durham Family and Cultural Centre, which has received a grant to launch a new family and community outreach program to support Black parents, caregivers and children facing challenges with the child welfare, education and justice systems. Jason Liebregts/Metroland JILLIAN FOLLERT jfoller t@durhamregion.com NEWS