Major grant for group advocating health services specific to Black women

Sharon Davis-Murdoch lobbied for years for health services designed specifically to meet the needs of Black women in the Halifax area.

Her determination, and that of the other volunteers behind the Health Association of African Canadians, has finally paid off.

The Nova Scotia government has given the group $200,000 so it can pursue its goal to create what's being called the Sisterhood Initiative, a community-driven effort that would deliver health services geared to Black women.

"Well, you have to say we are persistent and resilient," Davis-Murdoch said of last week's announcement.

Over the years, the association has received government grants ranging from $5,000 to $37,000 to complete specific projects, according to Davis-Murdoch, but has never received enough money to be able to begin the work to set up the initiative and offer health services to Black women.

"We asked for a significant amount, but I too was surprised, pleasantly surprised, by the amount that we were able to receive," she said.

The association was one of 28 groups to receive a total of $850,000 in grants. The money came from the federal government but the province determined who got the funds.

Davis-Murdoch said her association will be able to use its share of the money to continue to help Black families that have been struggling mentally as a result of the pandemic, but the funds would also allow the association to work on its longer-term goal of creating the Sisterhood Initiative. 

"We want to be able to respond to what has come up because of COVID, but also make investments that are long-term that will take us through the impact of COVID," said David-Murdoch. "We know that what happens during this pandemic is going to be around or have the impact of affecting people's lives for some time to come."

The Sisterhood Initiative would be modelled on the Nova Scotia Brotherhood Initiative run by Nova Scotia's health authority.

Davis-Murdoch was a leading voice behind that project, launched in 2010. She was motivated to visit Chicago after seeing Project Brotherhood profiled in a CNN report on the primary health project base in the city's south side.

In exchange for a free haircut, Black men agreed to have their blood pressure checked and to be examined by a doctor.

Davis-Murdoch and others were able to convince the province a similar project could benefit Black men in Nova Scotia. It now offers primary care, health promotion and chronic disease management through a number of locations in the Halifax region.

Dr. Ron Milne is one the clinicians involved in providing care to the Black men who are attached to the five clinics involved in the Nova Scotia Brotherhood Initiative.

"People have felt in the past that they weren't always heard, that their needs weren't always addressed and not always understood," he said. "So we try to be culturally focused and culturally competent in that we provide a welcoming environment for the men."

He said having Black professionals providing care does make a difference.

"They see people that look like them and that puts them at ease. And when we start talking, we're talking about their issues and understanding the impact that things like unemployment and racism and other factors have on not just on them, [but] on their health."

Milne said the clinics have been able to diagnose new cases of hypertension and diabetes in men who weren't getting checked. They have also found prostate issues in several men, which were referred to urology for further investigation. 

Milne supports a similar model of care for Black women.

So too does Dalhousie University researcher Ingrid Waldron. The associate professor in the faculty of health completed a study last year which recommended setting up mental health services to meet the specific needs of Black women in the Halifax area.

She said Black women were more likely to seek help from church leaders, family or friends than to try to get medical help for depression or other psychological problems because of stigma surrounding mental illnesses. 

"Sometimes you're castigated by your own community, by the Black community," said Waldron. "What's wrong with you? Stop crying. Stop being weak is what they often perceive mental illness to be."

Waldron said Black women also are not always comfortable seeking help from non-Black health professionals.

"They're very hesitant to seek out help because it's very difficult to find a Black therapist of any kind in this city and in the province."

Waldron and Milne both hope the money the province has given the Health Association of African Canadians does finally lead to the establishment of a Sisterhood Initiative.

Davis-Murdoch is convinced it will.

"This is the beginning of something new and something positive," she said.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.