HAMILTON BLACK HEALTH COMMUNITY

LEADERS FORUM


A Unified Voice of the African Diaspora in Hamilton

ABOUT US


Hamilton Black Health Community Leaders Forum is the voice of Hamilton’s African Diaspora Community at the municipal, provincial and federal level. The organization represents Hamilton’s African Communities before the city of Hamilton, the provincial and federal governments in the spirit of partnership for the advancement of its member-unique needs regarding the social determinants of health. HBHCLF, a federally registered, non-partisan and non-profit organization was established in September 14, 2021.and will be inaugurated on May 28th 2022

We are governed by a constitution and specific bylaws agreed to by our membership, and represent the interest of Canadians of African heritage residing in Hamilton at the Municipal, Provincial and Federal level on policy-oriented issues that impact them in areas such as housing, access to equitable and culturally-delivered healthcare , employment, and other social determinants of health


AIMS


We aim to unite people of African heritage living in Hamilton by creating a unified and strong voice which will address and promote the social determinants of our health such as housing, education, employment, access to better healthcare, fairness within all the social systems - the justice system, child welfare etc.

MISSION


Our Mission therefore is to work collectively and diligently to gain access to municipal, provincial, and even federal arenas where decisions, policies, regulations are made that affect these determinants of our health. We aim to accomplish our goals through:

  • Partnerships:
  • Form partnerships with organizations to engage in Projects aimed at addressing issues related to social determinants of health within the African Diaspora in Hamilton.
  • Collaborate with organizations to work on existing policies and operations which negatively affect the overall health & well being of the African Diaspora in Hamilton and request involvement in policies reviews, discussions and enactment to effect systemic changes.
  • Collaborate with other Black Organizations on Projects of mutual interests to achieve equity, diversity and inclusion for our communities. We will also share useful ideas, resources, data and information for our mutual benefit.


  • Community Engagement through:
  • Public Education through Townhall meetings and Forums
  • Awareness Campaigns
  • Conferences
  • Presentations to both Public & Private Agencies
  • Research & Data Collection
  • Collect race-based data as a key step to improving health outcomes for African populations and address racism.
  • To build pictures of where race-based gaps, racism and racial bias exist in both Provincial and Municipal health, housing, employment, school, Justice systems.
  • To paint a picture of the gaps and barriers in services and programs for African children, youth and families in order to effect changes to support their mental health and wellbeing.
  • To share data collected with local and provincial governments, public organizations, and agencies to make culturally effective interventions and policy changes.
  • To improve government funding allocations to Racialized and marginalized communities such as ours.