Homecoming

A program designed to address the impacts of anti-black racism among Black youth in the Greater Toronto Area.

**“To grow tall and touch the sky, we must first understand our roots.”**

-Catharsis Toronto

Program Details

Demographics: Black youth between the ages of 20-25 years old living in the Greater Toronto Area

Program Outline: Homecoming, a project funded by the Youth Opportunities Fund, a program of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, is an empowerment, engagement and career mentorship program designed to address the impacts of anti-black racism on Black youth in the Greater Toronto Area. Homecoming utilizes Black history, mindfulness practices, such as Yoga and introspection, and goal setting to encourage Black youth to combat anti-racism by living informed, mindful and prosperous lives.

Homecoming will run once a week for 20 weeks and assist 12 participants in a cohort totalling two cohorts a year for three years. The program will run in three phases, each phase consisting of a series of six-week workshops on the following topics.

Phase One- Empowerment: Participants will understand the historical context of what culture, identity, and community looked like for Africa and the Diaspora living in the Caribbean and North and South America before, during, and after slavery, emphasizing Canadian history. This phase aims to empower Black youth to have a well-informed sense of their history and identity while exploring and understanding intergenerational trauma.
Phase Two- Engagement: This phase will provide the participants with tools to critically analyze and respond to racism experienced in society and effective conflict resolution skills and strategies. By the end of these workshops, participants will understand that the anti-black racism they encounter is a systemic problem, not a personal one. Workshops will include case studies, media and role play to help participants develop conflict resolution skills to identify instances of anti-black racism.
Phase Three- Goal Setting: This phase will provide the participants with workshops on goal setting, information on community resources and the opportunity to set and put their short, medium and long goals into action. During this phase, the participants will be divided into groups with one of the program facilitators whose professional background aligns with the participants' future goals for one on one mentoring.