Ontario to create $25 million Black health center in Peel Region

Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the province is spending $25 million to create a Black health and social services center in Peel Region.

Jones says the hub could open as early as next summer and will connect people with a team of primary care, mental health and social service professionals.

She says the hub’s health care services will include maternal and child health, chronic disease prevention and management, senior health and wellness, and mental health support, with a focus on diseases that disproportionately affect black communities, such as sickle cell disease.

About 20 percent of Ontario’s Black community members live in Peel Region.

Jones says the hub was designed in part by residents, as well as Ontario Health, the Black Health Alliance, Roots Community Services, Partners Community Health and the LAMP Community Health Centre.

Charmaine Williams, a*sociate minister for social and economic opportunities for women, says race-based data shows black communities are disproportionately affected by cancer, diabetes and other health problems, and that center will help them navigate the system to access preventative care.